Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2007 - (Page 12)

SITE DEVELOPMENT The goal of the LA River revitalization master plan is to create a long-term vision for development and management of the river. The following objectives have been identified to guide the revitalization process. 1. Encourage Community Participation and Consensus: Diverse communities, neighborhoods, local residents, businesses, community groups, young, elderly, and a broad range of governmental agencies are all stakeholders and must be involved to ensure successful projects. 2. Enhance Connections, and Linkages: River projects should not be done in isolation, but should connect well with nearby communities. Planning for river projects should not consider merely the river channel itself, but communities in a wider corridor. 3. Increase Access: Residents who visit and enjoy river amenities will care about the long-term health of the river. Public access should be enhanced through environmentally sensitive design and planning. 4. Foster Economic Development: A revitalized river corridor is a local and regional destination; and as such can contribute to the economic vitality of the city and the region. River projects should encourage and enhance appropriate sustainable economic development, adding value to underutilized areas and communities. 5. Support Multiple Purposes: The LA River serves many purposes, including: flood protection, recreation, open space, habitat, groundwater recharge, water quality, and more. River projects should enhance multiple beneficial uses, and integrate multiple objectives. 6. Improve Coordination between Departments and Jurisdictions: Multi-objective projects require effective coordination. Diverse city departments should communicate and coordinate with each other, the public, and other jurisdictions. 7. Restore Nature: The LA River is a unique regional ecological resource. Its revitalization should enhance and restore the river’s nature, and should acknowledge the interconnectedness of the watershed from the mountains to the sea. 8. Maintain and Enhance Flood Protection: River revitalization must maintain, or preferably enhance, current levels of flood protection. 9. Foster Sustainability Practices: River projects should foster sustainability goals, including: stormwater management, groundwater recharge, water conservation, clean air, and efficient land use. 10. Safety: All government agencies should work to inform the public on the importance, beauty, and power of the Los Angeles River and how to safely enjoy the area. Fed by a watershed that includes the Santa Monica, San Gabriel, and Santa Susanna Mountains, the LA River is also the receiver of runoff from commercial, industrial, and urban residential activity – everything from lawn fertilizer to dumped automobile engine oil, most of which sits for most of the year in the channel until the three-month seasonal rain arrives to flush it into the Pacific Ocean. It represents the industrialization of a river as perhaps no other waterway. The Los Angeles River became the Los Angeles River Flood Control Channel in 1938 as a way of coping with the enormous runoff of rain that quickly saturated the soil or simply poured over the paved areas. Over the next 30 years, the river was an unattractive concrete channel, covered in some sections, fenced in others . . . an eyesore that cried out to be improved, enhanced, and beautified. The same fate befell its tributaries. Most Angelenos are likely unaware that the river is fed by a dozen creeks as it flows 52 miles from its headwaters in Canoga Park where Bell and Calabasas Creek converge, through Glendale, South Los Angeles and into Long Beach. In 2004, after years of raising awareness to the multiple economic losses and urban decay caused by the degenerated riverfront, the city of Los Angeles embraced the task of reclaiming its river. It would set in motion a multi-faceted, multi-disciplinary process that is planned to remove much of the river channel concrete, using the scrap for other purposes, and creating a sustainable natural flood channel that can handle, at peak flow, “the equivalent of 40 million garden hoses going full blast.” “The Los Angeles River, the birthplace of the city of Los Angeles, is a valuable resource to our city,” states LA City Councilman Ed Reyes, who has spearheaded the comprehensive revitalization of the LA River, “yet most people cannot see it, let alone enjoy the opportunities the river presents.” With the vision and leadership of Reyes and other city, county, and state officials, the LA City Council approved the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (LARRMP) earlier this year, establishing a 20-50 year blueprint for revitalization of the Los Angeles River that encompasses the 32 miles of the river within the city. The mission is to guide future recre- 12 September 2007 Sustainable Land Development Today

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2007

Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2007 Contents Our Voice: Teaching and Learning Your Voice: Reader Response Editorial Board A 52-Mile Taking Fiber to the Front Doors of America Educators Incorporating Sustainability Land Planning: The Truth about Sprawl Irrigation: Communication Key Wastewater: Many Challenges Determine Sewer Options Regulation: Changing by State, Region, and Municipality Risk Management: Construction Defect Claims Recommended Reading Products/Services Showcase Advertiser Index Calendar Classifieds The Last Word

Sustainable Land Development Today - September 2007

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