ACCESS TO NATURE; CHATSWORTH RESERVOIR'S FUTURE AN OPEN ISSUE.

Byline: Phillip W. Browne Daily News Staff Writer

With strong city support for a nature preserve at Chatsworth Reservoir, homeowners are pushing a plan for 1,300 acres of hiking, education, research and picnicking - but no parking.

Questions about public access will be answered later, they say, leaving open the critical question of whether the locked and gated open space will be made available for people on a daily basis.

For now, homeowners say the blueprint they want the city to adopt is this: wildlife, adventure and learning - and maybe some hiking trails weaved in.

``I'm literally willing to fight to the death. They'll have to develop it over my dead body,'' said Los Angeles City Councilman Hal Bernson, who represents Chatsworth and has led the preservation effort.

``It's a historic and naturally significant piece of property, and the city is in a quest for dollars. I won't sacrifice it for that purpose.''

For years, the Department of Water and Power, which owns the vast property, has lobbied for revenue-generating development on the 71-year-old site. In came proposals for sports fields, golf courses and possible housing tracts - development that would destroy the reservoir's complex ecosystem and drive away precious wildlife, critics say.

But last week, the years-old fight seemed to tilt in favor of the homeowners, as DWP Commission President Rick Caruso agreed to forgo sports fields and other development, reluctantly agreeing to maintain it as a natural preserve.

Caruso told the City Council he is concerned that the reservoir remain open to all San Fernando Valley residents.

And certainly, access now is the issue - determining how many people could visit and at what times, at a site that is nearly as big as the Hansen Dam recreation area and two-thirds as big as Sepulveda Dam Basin.

Everyone would be able to enjoy the site under the homeowners' plan, contended Rosemarie White, a Chatsworth resident and member of the Chatsworth Reservoir Preservation Task Force.

``I envision dozens of school buses in here having students study the ecosystems and maybe even spending the night,'' White said. ``Other areas would be open for public access during certain hours.

``By no means are we trying to make this a private park,'' White said.

And while the park would be open to all visitors, the issue of parking and access has not been explored, said Francine Oschin, chief deputy to Bernson. She predicts parking probably would be limited to maybe 20 or 30 spaces, but those issues would be handled by whatever agency would take over.

Some of the preserve areas would be closed to the public except by appointment, but the vast area surrounding those sites would be open for public use, she said.

``When you have a nature preserve, you don't really expect hundreds of people per day, maybe only dozens,'' Oschin said. ``Those details of parking and access would have to be worked out by the agency that takes over.''

The Valley long ago

Ultimately, Bernson and the community hope the reservoir will be taken over by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to become a haven for schoolchildren, biologists and nature lovers. It's the only place left where people can get a view of the Valley as it was 1,000 years ago, White said.

Preliminary plans include hiking trails, picnic tables on the outskirts of the site and possibly a small nature research center to complement the outdoor classroom area.

The nature center would have displays of flora and fauna, like a wildlife mini-museum, as well as historic artifacts uncovered from the site, Oschin said.

The area would be opened up for limited recreational use and hands-on scientific study as well as school tours, Oschin said. Viewing stations with telescopes might be set up along the reservoir's edge for closer views of the habitats within.

There also might be bike and equestrian trails blazed around the reservoir's perimeter, far enough away that they wouldn't upset the wildlife, Oschin said. There's even the possibility of campsites, but that idea hasn't been fully explored.

While the implementation costs have not been established, Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy Assistant Executive Officer Rorie Skei said the conservancy plans to spend about $300,000 to get the project off the ground, and about $100,000 per year to maintain it.

``It shouldn't be that difficult to carry out,'' Skei said. ``We're really only planning to put up benches and signs. We're leaving the land virtually untouched.''

Oschin said other costs, like for parking, trail maintenance, viewing stations and the nature center, would be raised through public bonds or private donations. Those costs have not been estimated.

``There's money out there and we'll find it, no matter what,'' she said.

Endangered species 

The reservoir is home to scores of plant and animal species, some rare, which are worthy of being preserved, said biologist and former Chatsworth resident Helen Treend, who founded the Chatsworth Reservoir Conservancy.

``As a middle school teacher in Chatsworth, I took classes there and had lessons based on the reservoir,'' said Treend, who now lives in Oregon but remains a key player in the preservation battle.

``During that time we realized that it was a key migration area for Canada geese and other . . . birds which were using it as a landing spot as they migrated to Mexico,'' she said.

The reservoir is an expanse of rolling grasslands, oak groves, marshes and ponds. Birds, mammals, amphibians and reptiles inhabit or visit the property, including deer mice, meadow moles, gophers, coyotes, bobcats, foxes, skunks, raccoons, opossums, rabbits, several species of bats, lizards and toads. Deer are there, too.

There are hundreds of plant species, including the rare Santa Susana monkey flowers and tar plants, she said.

In addition to the animals and rare plant life, there are 13 state-recognized archeological sites on the property, Treend said. Those sites contain Chumash Indian ruins, marine fossils and the last vestiges of the kiln that fired the stones that built the historic Spanish missions of the Los Angeles area.

Over the years, she collected hundreds of thank you letters and drawings from students who visited the reservoir, detailing their wonder over the day trips. She mailed about 15 pounds of those letters to Bernson's office to help show the DWP how important the site is for education, she said.

``This is an amazing source of excitement and learning for children and researchers,'' she said. ``It shouldn't be lost.''

The reservoir went into service in 1919 when the Valley was a sparsely populated agricultural area. For years it was the principal water storage facility in the western Valley.

As the Valley became urbanized, improvements were needed and upgrades began in 1969. The 1971 Sylmar Quake damaged the reservoir beyond repair and it was taken out of service. Since then, the community and the DWP have tried to agree on a use.

Earlier this month the DWP submitted a report to the City Council offering seven options for the reservoir, ranging from a vast expanse of open space to a 2,400-home development that could net the city $100 million.

The report came a year after Bernson pressed the DWP to lease the property to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy.

At the time, the DWP commission balked at that order, insisting on studying other uses for the site including sports fields, residential and limited commercial development.

The uses outlined in the report could generate revenue from $1 million per year for horse stables or $3.6 million for a golf course, to as much as $100 million for the residential community.

CAPTION(S):

3 Photos, Map

PHOTO (1--Color) Rosemarie White looks for wildlife around the pond in the Chatsworth Reservoir.

(2--3--Color) An old tree stump, left, is just one of the homes for wildlife in the Chatsworth Reservoir. Dr. Rosemarie White, above right, and Charles and Grace Gremer walk along a reservoir road Friday afternoon.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News

(Color) MAP: PROPOSED CHATSWORTH RESERVOIR PLAN - Scenario 2

SOURCE: Department of Water and Power

Gregg Miller/Daily News