Results tagged “openspace”

It may be Halloween, but it is also the anniversary of a major environmental bill that affected close to 9.2 million acres of California desert back in 1994. The California Desert Protection Act brought us two national parks, one national preserve, millions of acres of federal wilderness areas, as well as other special areas from Death Valley to the Mexico border.

Photographer and Manhattan Beach resident Jake Rome this morning let us know that officials decided to keep the popular park closed as city staff figure out how to solve neighborhood problems. In a comment, he writes: Just an FYI, the council decided to keep the park closed until they've developed and implemented a mitigation that discourages sufficient number of people from using the dune.

       

In early August, Manhattan Beach officials closed the popular Sand Dune Park for maintenance after a busy Summer with a high rate of visitors. About a month later, it was ready to be reopened, but didn't.

U.S. Forest Officials yesterday signed an order that lifted closure restrictions on a large chunk of the Angeles National Forest. However, 450 square miles of the San Gabriel Mountain range still remain off-limits to public-at-large as the Station Fire continues to burn and personnel comb through recovery areaa. The closure will remain in affect until next year September, unless a new order lifting restrictions is signed.

In Los Angeles, new taxes, assessments and fee increases tend to fund a basic municipal services, such as growing a police force or renewing an aging power infrastructure. In smaller and younger cities, however, voters sometimes allow such monies to be directed elsewhere.

Good news comes today as Governor Arnold Schwarzegger's office announced that that plans to close state parks have changed. Fewer parks will close and plans to release a list of those parks has been dropped. Although the Governor's office is downplaying the shift in direction, the Mercury News juxtaposes it with this point:

Keep your eyes peeled for the perfect spot--not to park your car but to park your butt or two feet in a comfy, welcoming, back-to-nature focused space meant to remind us that in all this concrete we need to have some green space. You'll find spaces all over town converted into mini-green getaways, complete with all manner and variety of benches, greenery, decor, motifs, and opportunities to socialize with people from the neighborhood. Hosted by citizens, groups, architecture firms and others, these once-a-year spots are worth checking out today.

       

The new Studio Oaks Park, officially a wide median along Ventura Boulevard with a walking path that straddles the border of Sherman Oaks and Studio City, is practically finished. The meandering walking path is open to the public, except for one block that was flooded out by a trunkline break on Coldwater Canyon, and all that needs to be done to complete the project is some landscaping, which has become an issue between neighbors.

It's that time of year again and one that we love. Tomorrow is Park[ing] Day, where citizens, groups, architecture firms and others take a city parking space and turn it into a park. Make sure to visit one of your local parks as it only lasts one day. There's also a bicycle ride touring many of the parks for those with the day off.

Although no closure list has been handed out, this is the last weekend before many State Parks are expected to close. Faced with nearly $39 million cuts to its budget, State Park officials wanted to hold off until the last minute, hoping cities, nonprofits and corporations would step up and partner to save state parks. For every park saved by one entity could mean the another park saved with the department's dwindling budget.

LA Creek Freek blogger Joe Linton leads us to a nice river vision in Studio City called the L.A. River Natural Park, which would go between Whitsett Avenue and Coldwater Canyon. Described as "a forward-thinking concept design for the last remaining unprotected open space along 22 miles of the L.A. River in the San Fernando Valley," the project could include walking and bicycle paths, a native habitat, a play area and tennis courts, which already exist as part of the former recreational space, now threatened by condo development.

For a few years now, a big swath of open space at Laurel Canyon and Mullholand Drive has been up for sale. The current owner has been nice and patient enough to sell the land instead of turning it into a housing development, but only under a payment plan with goal dates to be met. The next date is August 17th and the Mountain Recreation and Conservation Authority is $145,000 short. Paul Edelman, the Chief Ecologist for both the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, a state agency, and the Authority, has made a case for Los Angeles to put money behind saving this land on the Huffington Post:

California State Parks director Ruth Coleman said that the agency faces a total of about $39 million in cuts after the new budget, which directly states a $14.2 million cut, was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger today. Additionally, $2.4 million was siphoned from a cigarette tax fund because less people are smoking. Furloughs and salary cuts round out the large number (Note: a full budget fact sheet is embedded below).

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger finally signed California's budget today, making additional cuts to fill a $1.1 billion gap left by legislators in their approved package. An additional $6.2 million was cut from state parks after an $8 million cut was proposed last week. That makes a total of $14.2 million, a number the Schwarzenegger's office predicts "will result in the closure of probably more than 100 parks."

Where there's a will, there's a way. For years, the owner of Annandale Canyon in Pasadena wanted to develop his property into 24 luxury homes. But neighbors fought it, even imposing a tax on themselves to raise over a million dollars in order to assist the city in purchasing the land. In total, it was sold for $6.2 million with funds coming from the tax, a Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy grant (even though the land is not in the SaMos, it's in the the San Rafael Hills.) and other sources. Now the 20.6-acre site and an additional 31,000 square foot neighboring property will be used by advocates as a template for other acquisitions in Pasadena, according to the Pasadena Star News.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's budget-saving threat to close 80% of state parks for two years has the federal government raising a red flag. Numerous parks, including a handful local to Los Angeles, are under stipulations to stay open to the public because the land was fully or partially federally funded or transferred to the state from federal ownership.

An annual $15 vehicle fee proposed by a state budget committee yesterday could save 80% of state parks currently threatened to be closed amidst the budget crisis. The Ventura County Star explains: Under the plan, all motorists would pay a $15 surcharge on the license fees they pay each year to register their vehicles. The surcharge would yield about $220 million — enough to keep parks open, allow anyone with a California license to enter and park for free at state parks and leave enough left over to make some debt payments on outstanding park bonds.

It's been a long five year process--sometimes nasty--but yesterday marked the beginning steps in transforming a former blighted Metro bus yard into the South Los Angeles Wetlands Park, located on Avalon Blvd north of Slauson. Expected to be completed by 2011, the first phase of the wetland park will feature the passive park elements followed a rail museum and community meeting space in phase two. The space will also act as an outdoor classroom.

The state parks that are proposed to be cut are quite beautiful and very popular--still, if they close, it's not like there's nothing left. State parks make up 23% of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area, leaving a good amount of acreage to the National Park Service and another state park agency local to Los Angeles, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy (note that there is a considerable amount of private land within the Nat. Rec. Area, too).

North Hollywood: What do you do when the city owns a vacant lot that's being used by people as an unofficial trash landfill? Clear it out and make it into a park. On Monday, Councilwoman and Controller-Elect Wendy Greuel and others will make the first ceremonial dig on the Bellaire Pocket Park Project, located at the corner of Bellaire Ave and Strathern St.

As the feds try to acquire a large chunk of Malibu real estate to protect it from development, Pepperdine University has donated 72 acres of pristine Santa Monica Mountains habitat above Pacific Coast Highway to the state. The newly obtained Little Las Flores Canyon will connect to Tuna Canyon Park and will provide a continuos wildlife corridor to Topanga State Park. "It features a deep canyon system formed by Little Las Flores Creek, massive sandstone outcrops with numerous ledges and pinnacles for roosting and nesting of owls, hawks, eagles, and ravens, and various reptiles," reads a description from County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavky's Office. "The terrain also includes coastal Southern California plant communities including sycamore riparian woodland, coastal sage scrub and native grasslands."

Although President Bush visited the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area in 2003, he never gave funding for land acquisition during his presidency. Now President Obama "has proposed spending $420 million next year to buy land for national parks, forests and wildlife refuges, and to help states fund parks and recreation projects," reports the LA Times.

Verdugo Mountain Park is now the 6th largest park in Los Angeles, thanks to Councilwoman Wendy Greuel's $2.7 million expenditure of Proposition K money to purchase 225 acres of open space, securing it from outside development. The park is located in the northeast Valley at the edge of northern Glendale and is home to an annual hike and trail run in November.

It's not only Echo Park who is getting major kudos from the American Planning Association, the 3.5 mile long Santa Monica Beach was named as one of the Great Public Spaces in America today. "The designation stems from the beach's commitment to accessibility, environmental stewardship and historic preservation, and maintaining its distinctive character," their report says which introduces the space as "the birthplace of 'beach culture,' a place where human theater unfolds daily against the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean. For nearly 120 years, Santa Monica Beach in Santa Monica, California, has been the dynamic link between the natural and man-made worlds, providing equal access to all who wish to congregate near this part of the coast."

blogdowntown is all over the parks in their hood making a special page dedicated to the event. Our favorite is the bike rack in a parking space, something that is not a stranger to the streets of Portland. Over at Curbed LA, a reader is disappointed in the Valley. Apparently, the Studio City and NoHo Arts District parks were no where to be found and one in the Northeast Valley was "was little more than a tent set up in the street with a few big tables." We're lucky the Sherman Oaks one was there as said. Phew!

       

For their Park[ing] Day LA project, Chattel Architecture, a planning and historic preservation firm, in Sherman Oaks took a spot in front of their Ventura Blvd. office and designed a simplistic homage to landscape architect Thomas Church. "With plot sizes shrinking after WWII, Church recognized the necessity of landscaping for small yards on limited budgets," their sign taped to a parking meter said. "Church designed 2,000 gardens in 40 years of practice."

Here's a photo of Torti Gallas and Partners, an urban design and architecture firm based in downtown, setting up their commandeered parking space at 6th & Grand Avenue.

Park[ing] Day, which is taking place all over the city in nearly 70 parking spaces, is an important day for addressing park space in Los Angeles, something we are on the low side of per capita. It is recommended that there are 8-10 acres of parks and open space for every 1000 residents. Los Angeles reportedly has about 10% of that.

Nearly 70 parking spaces around Los Angeles will be turned into parks tomorrow. The event where designers, artists, activists and others come together to make a park in a metered parking space, seeks to promote a dialogue in how our streets and urban space are used, especially for a city that has little park space per resident.

The 2nd annual Park[ing] Day LA is coming up on Friday, September 19. The event where designers, artists, activists and others come together to make a park in a metered parking space, seeks to promote a dialogue in how our streets and urban space are used, especially for a city that has little park space per resident.