Baldwin Hills' next act: Park, homes or both?

After a century of drilling, pressure is on to transition an oil field to a better use.

- BY DOUG SMITH

JASON ARMOND Los Angeles Times THE INGLEWOOD Oil Field is among the region's last great pieces of undeveloped land. Visions range from a Central Park of L.A. to housing and ballfields.

The 342-foot climb from Culver City streets to the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook is a monster, but the payoff is sublime: panoramic views from Santa Monica Bay to the San Gabriel Mountains.

Almost sublime, that is. The foreground is a scar of denuded earth, storage tanks and bobbing pump-jacks — the legacy of oil discovered a century ago when only farmhouses were scattered over the surrounding flatlands.

A long and inevitable clash came when suburbia closed in around the 1,000-acre Inglewood Oil Field, as occurred at oil facilities all over the region. Now that conflict is coming to a resolution. A state edict, if it holds up in court, would require drilling and pumping to stop by the end of the decade.

What hasn't been resolved is what will then become of one of the region's last great pieces of undeveloped land.

One day, those denuded slopes could be a premiere addition to the Los Angeles region's needy park systems, adding wildlife habitat, hiking trails and sports facilities to the majestic views.

Or, they could be dotted with multimillion-dollar mansions boasting Malibu-like views in the heart of the city. Or, the valley below could become a village of affordable housing. Or it could be some mix of all of the above.

For a quarter of a century, the state has pursued a policy of acquiring that land and retaining it as park and open space. But progress toward that goal has faltered because of insufficient funding and unwilling sellers.

As priorities change, in and out of government, the conversation over the future of Baldwin Hills is widening to include scenarios that set aside some of that land to address the region's other urgent need: housing.