A portion of the Los Angeles River, located at the intersection of De Forest Avenue and Willow Street in Long Beach
Gonzalez is one of 35 appointed members of the Steering Committee, which is providing input, ideas, comments and feedback throughout the entire Los Angeles River planning process. A consultant team and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works will factor in committee, stakeholder and public input in preparation of an updated master plan.
The County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors is authorized in adopting a new plan by 2020 in an attempt to modernize the existing plan.
“Specifically for Long Beach, I would like to work on improving our environment through the addition of new active recreational-use and open space,” Gonzalez wrote in an email to the Signal Tribune. “Additionally, as we sit at the mouth of the river, we have to be very conscious and mindful of issues around stormwater run-off and water quality to ensure that our residents are not adversely affected.”
In a newsletter last week, Gonzalez wrote that Janice Hahn, 4th-district Los Angeles County supervisor, appointed her as a member of the committee. In her first meeting as a member that same week, she learned of the committee’s goals, which were to provide new changes to the 1996 LA River plan as a complement to the existing objectives.
There are three subcommittees, each emphasizing either water, environmental and outreach aspects of the project.
“Overall, our goal is to put together a plan that is inclusive of existing plans, understands the history of the LA River as a flood-control channel and creates a plan that is broad enough that each individual community along the river can implement what makes the most sense for their area,” Gonzalez said.
The councilmember added that there has been much localized work on the project since the plan was previously updated in 1996 to restore the river’s natural ecology. She said an update would be essential in “connecting the existing plans and filling in the gaps.”
According to a time line available at larivermasterplan.org, the Steering Committee will:
• Brainstorm its ideas in April
• Draft vision principles and create a community-outreach plan in June
• Identify gaps in the existing plans and standards in September
• Draft flood-control alternatives in December
• Draft planning, design, flood-mitigation and project concepts in March 2019
• Plan the concepts and policies in June 2019
• Draft the Los Angeles River Master Plan Update in September 2019
• Update the LA River Master Plan further in December 2019
• Officially implement the Los Angeles River Master Plan February 2020
The full chart can be viewed below.
[aesop_image imgwidth=”1000px” img=”http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/River-3.png” credit=”larivermasterplan.org” align=”center” lightbox=”on” caption=”A time line of the Steering Committee’s Los Angeles River Master Plan update process” captionposition=”center” revealfx=”off” overlay_revealfx=”off”] The committee’s presentations, resources and calendar of upcoming events are available at larivermasterplan.org.
“I look forward to working alongside stakeholders throughout the district, as well as directly in Long Beach,” Gonzalez said, “to create a plan that will improve water quality, restore ecosystems that have been lost over the years and create open space in disadvantaged communities.”
