At 2,000 acres, the Sepulveda Basin is the largest public open space in the San Fernando Valley. Not just a flood management basin, it’s home to Woodley and Lake Balboa Parks, a wildlife preserve, playgrounds, bike paths, hiking trails, a dog park, a model aircraft field and much more.
While the basin has so many amenities, some areas can be difficult to access and navigate, while others are underutilized, according to the city of Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering (BOE). To change this, the BOE has put forward its Sepulveda Basin Vision Plan Project to turn the area into a climate-resilient park that balances recreational, natural and cultural spaces.
This is the first comprehensive plan by the city for the basin, which has been developed through the input of community members. The BOE has partnered with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority for the project, along with elected officials, tribal leaders and community groups.
On their website, the BOE said that the neighborhoods surrounding the basin, namely Van Nuys and Sherman Oaks, significantly lack green open spaces at only 0.2 acres of park per 1,000 people – well below the LA County goal of four acres per 1,000 people. As such, the project is being used to enhance the spaces within the basin to provide more recreation and cultural spaces and a better natural habitat.
The plan outlines several long-term goals for the future of the basin, including improving the water quality of streams and outlets entering the basin, increasing ecosystem function using nature-based solutions, increasing resilience within the basin and surrounding communities and improving multi-modal transportation access to and within the area.
The BOE has been conducting technical studies on the basin, with a virtual community update being provided later tonight via Zoom at 6 p.m.
As a vital green space in the area, it can’t be understated how important it is to keep the area maintained and clear of trash, which is why there have been many cleanup efforts within the basin to ensure the space is safe for everyone to use. During one recent cleanup organized by LA City Councilmember Imelda Padilla, about a dozen people volunteered. They came from several different organizations, including the San Fernando Valley Audubon Society, the Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Steering Committee and West Valley Alliance.
“This cleanup is part of our larger effort to restore the basin’s natural beauty, strengthen public safety and reconnect residents to this incredible community resource,” Padilla said in a statement. “We’re bringing together neighbors, local partners and multiple levels of government to ensure the basin remains a vibrant, accessible space for generations to come.”
And more cleanup efforts are still to come. The next one is on Saturday, Oct. 18, when volunteers will join Friends of the LA River to clean up trash to protect the local wildlife.
To attend BOE’s virtual community meeting on Thursday, Oct. 16, 6-7:30 p.m. you can Zoom: bit.ly/SBVPUpdate and use the webinar identification number 853 2575 4379. You may also call in by dialing (833) 548-0282.
To learn more about the project, visit https://engineering.lacity.gov/sepulveda-basin-vision-plan-project.
And there it is! Padilla was not involved with the Vision Plan. Padilla did noting but watch the basin burn the last year. Padilla has not donated to FOLAR because she does these clean ups, not promoting them, not encouraging the community, poses for photos of the ten people that show up, but takes credit for “cleaning up”. Taking away the park and ride for the area for junk RV parking without notifying the community, losing this transit parking forever, offering up her own district as a junk yard. Blindsiding Sun Valley residents with plans for Tiny Homes in their park and ride, again without community input. A mess, and a community recall going through the system, I hope her short time as a Councilmember allows enough free time after this term to look back and realize that she was supposed to represent her district.