The Problem
Development of 200 condominiums and nine four-story buildings is proposed for the last remaining open space along the Los Angeles River in the San Fernando Valley, threatening critical public access to the river and the regional L.A. River Greenway trail

CCS’S Solution
A visionary design for this river-front property to create a river-oriented park and natural lands, connect to regional L.A. River walking and biking trails, protect public access, preserve existing recreational uses and retrofit the site into a 'green' filter that can clean polluted urban and stormwater runoff that flows to the river

About the Problem
This 16 acres is the only remaining open space for 22 miles along the Los Angeles River in the San Fernando Valley, from the headwaters in Canoga Park to the 170 freeway. This land is a critical link in the L.A. River Greenway, the 51-mile network of trails, parks and natural lands designed to connect all communities along the length of the river. The dense urban development proposed for this site – nine four-story buildings - would destroy an essential public L.A. River staging area and trailhead, prevent use of the site for badly-needed water quality improvement projects, and increase traffic in an already heavily-congested area.

Public open space is already in short supply in the densely-populated valley, where park acreage is far below national averages. And with regional efforts increasingly focused on solving water pollution problems in our rivers and ocean by removing concrete from paved lands to create parks and other green areas that can help filter and uptake pollutants, we can’t afford to pave over existing parklands and undeveloped open space.

Located in Studio City, the property has been used as the Studio City Golf & Tennis Facility for decades. These recreational uses are compatible with a range of public open space, river-front parks, trails, staging areas, and water quality improvement projects.

About CCS' Solution
CCS helping designed a far-reaching vision for this unique property - a crucial step in bringing together the many elected officials, state and regional public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community stakeholders to make sure this important open space doesn’t disappear. Working closely with the Studio City Residents Association, we want to make sure that what happens on this property is consistent with the County L.A. River Master Plan, the L.A. City River Revitalization Plan, and the well over $100 million in public funds that have already been invested in creating the 51-mile L.A. River Greenway. We hope to preserve as much of the site’s recreation and open space as possible and to protect critical connections to the Los Angeles River.

Cleaning Up Polluted Waters
The site also has tremendous potential to become a water quality treatment area for filtering and cleaning urban and stormwater runoff before it flows into the Los Angeles River. The size of this property makes it a high-priority candidate for a multi-use project that combines open space and recreation with urban runoff catchment and filtration to capture and control pollutants that contaminate the river, the county’s beaches and coastal waters. These types of ‘green solution’ projects are a major focus of the Regional Water Quality Control Board and Heal the Bay for addressing the many serious impacts polluted waters have on human health and aquatic life.

Map

Aerial Photo

Public access to the L.A. River Greenway trail is threatened

West course along the L.A. River

Click here to download CCS' L.A River Nautral Park Vision & Concept Design Report