The City of Lomita is designing a park on six acres it does not own yet. Since spring it has used a county grant to fund planning. It has also put an online survey with a map tool in front of residents and scheduled three public events, the last of them at the Tree Lighting Ceremony on Dec. 4. The land itself is the Navy ballfields at 26800 S. Western Ave., home of Lomita Little League. As of the city's October 22 update, it still belongs to the U.S. Department of the Navy.
The order matters because of the law that makes the transfer possible. Congress did not give Lomita the Navy Fields. It authorized a sale, and the terms of that sale shape every design choice now on the table.
What Congress actually approved
The deal rests on Section 2859 of Public Law 118-159, the National Defense Authorization Act signed on Dec. 23, 2024. The law describes the parcel as about 5.7 acres of ballfields at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Defense Fuel Support Point, San Pedro. In a November 2025 report, LAist counted the Lomita field as one of 11 Navy-owned fields tied to the San Pedro fueling area.
The provision started as a standalone bill. Rep. Nanette Diaz Barragán introduced H.R. 9139 on July 25, 2024, with Rep. Ted Lieu as cosponsor. Most of the bill's terms carried over into the final law. One that bears directly on Lomita's budget did not.
| Term | H.R. 9139 as introduced | Section 2859 as enacted |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Conveyance "at a cost less than fair market value" | Fair market value, set by an independent appraiser the Navy selects |
| How the city can pay | Cash, in-kind consideration the Navy accepts, or both | Same |
| Federal money | The city may not use federal funds for the required payments | Same |
| Navy's transaction costs | City covers due diligence and administrative costs, excluding environmental remediation | Same |
| Interim use | No-cost interim lease of up to three years allowed | Same |
| Long-term use | Park and recreation only; the property can revert to the U.S. if used otherwise | Same |
The enacted law also authorizes the conveyance without requiring it, and makes it subject to a "mutually satisfactory" agreement between the Navy and the city. The interim lease provision has a deadline built in. If the conveyance is not completed within the lease term, the Navy has no further obligation to make the parcel available.
The use restriction is broad. The land must be used for park and recreation, and the law names vending and restrooms as allowed ancillary uses. If the Navy Secretary determines after a hearing that the site is being used inconsistently with that purpose, the property and its improvements can revert to the United States. So every idea residents pin on the survey map has to fit that definition, and it has to keep fitting it long after the ribbon is cut.
The price question has come up before
Lomita has been through the fair-market-value question once already. In November 2021, the Daily Breeze reported that the youth leagues on the San Pedro fuel depot fields were paying $850 a year and faced possible annual lease charges of $10,000 to $12,000 after a Defense Department policy change tied the fees to fair market value. That October, Barragán and Lieu had asked the Navy to keep the fields open to children's leagues, and their letter identified the Western Avenue parcel as Lomita Little League's home. By late December, according to the Daily Breeze, an interim agreement had extended use of the 11 perimeter fields for six months while officials worked on a longer-term solution.
The 2024 bill would have settled the question with a discount. The final law kept fair market value as the standard. Moving the land from federal to city hands puts the field on permanent footing, but it does not make the field free.
Spending ahead of the deed
The city's timeline has been a steady series of forecasts. In March 2026, the Daily Breeze reported that Lomita expected to take ownership within a year. The same article covered a $500,000 grant from the Los Angeles County Regional Park and Open Space District, funded through Measure A, for planning and design. Officials said the transferred property would nearly double the recreational space available to Lomita residents. Mayor Cindy Segawa told the paper the grant "enables Lomita to take the next important step in revitalizing the Navy Fields."
In the city's July 24 update, City Manager Andrew Vialpando wrote that the city had issued a request for proposals for an outreach consultant, paid for in part from the grant, and that "with the land transfer still on track for early next year, we want to be ready to hit the ground running." The October 20 City Council agenda recommended a professional services agreement with Kimley Horn and Associates for community outreach and grant services, not to exceed $219,938. That figure is a $199,938 fee plus a $20,000 contingency.
Measured against the city's general fund, that work is a real commitment. When the city announced the start of the transfer process in November 2025, Vialpando put Lomita's operating general fund at $16 million and said the site would need phased work. Segawa, then mayor pro tem, called the property a critical community asset that should be developed to a high standard. The first round of needs is basic. City materials list baseball fields, bleachers, fencing, restrooms and other existing facilities for assessment and improvement.
The city's own wording acknowledges how much is still open. Its October 22 announcement says the work "will involve multiple phases, with the scope and timing of future improvements dependent on planning, approvals and available funding," and that grants and community contributions are expected to help pay for development.
Little League's place in the plan
The Navy Fields have been Lomita Little League's home for decades, and the league is part of the planning. The city says its design consultants are working with local stakeholders, including the league. In the city's announcement, league president Ian Brewster said, "These fields have been part of Lomita Little League's history for decades, and we're glad to be part of the conversation about what comes next." The league traces its mission to 1954.
The July update lists who the outreach is meant to reach: the City Council, commissions, Little League, the Chamber of Commerce, the Boys & Girls Club, LAUSD, neighboring residents and the broader community. Reaching that many groups is how a six-acre baseball site gets a new name, the Lomita Sports and Community Center. The park-and-recreation clause in the federal law sets the outer limit on what that name can come to include.
Where to weigh in before the deal closes
The city scheduled a pop-up at the State of the City on Nov. 12 and a community workshop at the Stephenson Center, 24428 Eshelman Ave., on Nov. 14. Two ways to take part remain open this season:
- The online survey. The project survey asks what recreation features and amenities residents want, and you can drop suggestions on a map of the site.
- The Tree Lighting pop-up. The city's annual Tree Lighting Ceremony is on Friday, Dec. 4, from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in downtown Lomita at 24300 Narbonne Ave. A Sports and Community Center information table will be set up there.
Project updates are posted on the city's LSCC Project page. Over the next year, the city plans to gather input and explore conceptual designs while it continues to pursue the transfer.
This post summarizes a federal statute and city documents as general information. It is not legal or financial advice, so if a specific provision affects you, please confirm it with the right professional.
A park on Western Avenue will change how the blocks around it are used day to day, and longtime Lomita owners notice that kind of change before it shows up in sales data. If you live near the Navy Fields and want to know how this project fits into what your home is worth, Theresa Bruno can walk you through it. Get Your Free Home Valuation.
