The Public Process
County Review Process
Los Angeles County led an environmental review process for the La Brea Tar Pits Master Plan beginning in February 2022, and the Board of Supervisors approved the plan, including certification of the Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR) in February 2025. An EIR provides an assessment of the project’s probable environmental effects pursuant to State of California requirements under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).
This project has received an outpouring of support, including from leaders of scientific institutions, L.A. museums, community partners, educators and more.
Community Process Highlights
From the start, NHMLAC ensured that the master planning process was open and inclusive, welcoming public participation and prioritizing broad and diverse community outreach at every stage, from the selection of the architectural design team to the Environmental Impact Review process.
- February 2025 – Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approves La Brea Tar Pits Master Plan and certifies Final Environmental Impact Report.
- September–October 2023 – Draft Environmental Impact Report (EIR) available for review. Public feedback was received online and in person, and taken into account in revising the project. Held an in-person community meeting with Spanish, Korean, and French translators on site to answer questions and engage with the public about the Draft EIR.
- March 2022 – Led two virtual public scoping meetings with live interpretation in Spanish and Korean.
- February 2022 – Conducted extensive outreach to announce the release of the Notice of Preparation (English version) and upcoming scoping meetings.
- December 2021 – Announced the selection of Weiss Manfredi to lead the Master Plan process.
- Fall 2021 – Launched campaign to inform the community about the project and upcoming public review process.
- December 2019 – Announced the selection of Weiss Manfredi to lead the Master Plan process.
- August – September 2019 – Displayed models, drawings, and renderings for three finalists at La Brea Tar Pits for the public to provide input. Thousands of Angelenos gave feedback via survey.
- August 2019 – Held a public event at El Rey Theater attended by hundreds of community members where three finalist architecture firms presented their approaches.
- March 2019 – Announced design competition for the Master Plan.
SEE PHOTOS FROM OUR COMMUNITY EVENTS
