Why Is Redondo Beach Spending $638K Investigating Soil, Waste And Landfill Gas At Dominguez Park?

REDONDO BEACH, CA — Redondo Beach could spend as much as $638,700 investigating buried waste, testing soil and installing landfill-gas monitoring equipment at Dominguez Park, where recent playground improvements triggered regulatory requirements for a former municipal dump that closed nearly six decades ago.

The Redondo Beach City Council is scheduled Tuesday to consider an agreement with environmental consulting firm Geosyntec Consultants for field investigation, material sampling, laboratory testing, soil and waste management and landfill-gas probe installation and monitoring.

The reason for the work lies beneath the park. The recently completed Dominguez Park Playground Improvement Project sits within the boundaries of the former Redondo Beach Dump, an approximately 16-acre municipal solid-waste landfill that formally closed in 1968, according to a city budget report.

Because of that location, the playground project triggered regulatory requirements from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, which acts as the state's Local Enforcement Agency for the closed landfill.

What Lies Beneath Dominguez Park?

During construction of the playground improvements, county officials asserted regulatory authority under California's Title 27 rules governing solid-waste facilities and required additional information about the former landfill.

Geosyntec was previously hired to gather historical records, obtain documents from regulatory agencies and evaluate the site's compliance with state regulations. The county subsequently required the city to develop a Field Investigation Workplan to fill gaps in existing information and better characterize the former landfill.

The investigation is intended to determine the horizontal and vertical extent of buried waste, its volume and the types of material present. Laboratory testing will also evaluate the characteristics of the waste and the soil covering it, while other work will address drainage, erosion and the integrity of the landfill cover.

Monitoring probes will also be installed around the landfill perimeter to determine whether landfill gas is migrating off-site. The initial program calls for monthly monitoring for one year, along with landfill-gas sampling and laboratory analysis, according to the city's June budget report.

The city documents do not say hazardous waste or dangerous levels of landfill gas have been found at Dominguez Park. The investigation is intended to determine and characterize conditions at the former landfill.

$638,700 Contract — But Not All At Once

Although the proposed Geosyntec agreement has a maximum value of $638,700, city staff is recommending authorization of $546,400 for the initial phase. That would cover implementation of the Field Investigation Workplan and the first year of perimeter landfill-gas monitoring.

Another $92,300 is included in the agreement for a potential second year of monitoring and reporting, but staff is not recommending authorization of that phase yet. If a second year is needed, additional funding would be requested through the city's fiscal year 2027-28 capital budget.

The city currently has $550,000 available for the work in its Dominguez Park Landfill Use Program budget, according to the staff report.

The latest work follows several years of environmental review at Dominguez Park. Geosyntec has previously provided environmental services involving the playground, dog park, northern hillside and Police Department shooting range.

In June 2025, the city expanded a Geosyntec contract to conduct additional field sampling near the shooting range and soil investigation along the park's northern slope near 190th Street, as well as additional environmental work related to the playground project.

One Of Redondo Beach's Most Heavily Used Parks

Dominguez Park is a significant piece of Redondo Beach open space. The city's General Plan describes the 20.6-acre park at Flagler Lane and 190th Street as the city's largest and most centrally located park and one of its most heavily used.

The park includes children's play equipment, baseball and T-ball fields, picnic areas, batting cages, an exercise course and the city's only fenced, off-leash dog park. Heritage Court and the Redondo Beach Historical Museum are also located there.

The General Plan notes that a large portion of Dominguez Park is located on a former landfill and says that history limits opportunities to develop major new facilities at the site.

Under the proposed agreement, Geosyntec's initial work would continue through Oct. 6, 2027. The $638,700 contract appears on Tuesday's City Council agenda as a consent item.