BASIN WETLANDS PLAN HAS HOMEOWNERS CRYING FOUL.

Byline: Dana Bartholomew Staff Writer

ENCINO - City officials sweetened a controversial plan to create a Sepulveda Basin wastewater marsh to cut pollution of the Los Angeles River by proposing Wednesday to add boardwalks, biking trails, a nature center and a soccer field.

The plan got the nod from bird watchers and river guardians, but a thumbs-down from homeowners and some environmental groups.

The draft of the proposed Sepulveda Wetlands Park released by the Department of Public Works calls for 60 acres of wetland cattails and bulrushes created from treated wastewater.

The $15.6 million park, designed to attract birds and other wildlife, would be enhanced by boardwalks, biking trails, a nature center and a soccer field south of Burbank Boulevard, between Woodley Avenue and the Ventura Freeway.

Critics call the project a cynical attempt by the city to cut sewage treatment costs and promote development by increasing sewage treatment capacity through the elimination of precious open space and stinking up nearby neighborhoods.

``It is not a wetlands project,'' said Dr. Rosemarie White, founder of the Canada Goose Project and a member of a Sepulveda Basin wildlife committee. ``It is a sanitation filtration project designed in the mode of a pseudo-wetlands.''

But officials insist the wetland would not only cut algae-inducing nitrogen in the Los Angeles River in accord with new state and federal laws but also reduce the need for costly upgrades to the Donald C. Tillman Water Reclamation Plant.

``I really think this is going to be a gift to the community,'' said Judith A. Wilson, director of the Bureau of Sanitation, planner of the park.

``People need to learn a lot about nature and the importance of active wetlands. Our future in California requires us to be much more conservation-minded and better at resource management.''

The public comment period for the Sepulveda Wetlands Park draft plan is open until March 8. A final plan would include further environmental review. If approved, officials say, flooding would begin at Sepulveda Wetlands Park in summer 2003.

Proponents of the pilot project cite the following benefits:

-- Restoration of native wetland habitats with advanced technology.

-- Better use of reclaimed water.

-- Improved water to the Los Angeles River.

-- More recreational and educational opportunities.

``We have provided a win-win for the community,'' added Adel Hagekhalil, division manager of waste engineering services for the Bureau of Sanitation.

The park would give children a place to view birds, bulrushes and other wildlife from a meandering boardwalk while enhancing the environment via the highly treated wastewater used at Lake Balboa, the Wildlife Lake and the Japanese Garden, he said.

The Tillman plant reclaims an average of 65 million gallons of wastewater a day, Hagekhalil said. By upgrading the plants and adding wetlands capable of cleaning an additional 20 million gallons, the nitrogen problem can be solved.

The controversial wetlands project is supported by the San Fernando Valley Audubon Societies and the River Project, a group advocating the restoration of the Los Angeles River.

``Conceptually, the plan is excellent, I give it a thumbs-up,'' said Melanie Winter, director of the River Project. ``I give it a thumbs-up: Providing educational opportunities for youth and restoring wildlife areas is fabulous.''

Others disagree.

Steve Hartman, state treasurer of the California Native Plant Society, said the project is designed to induce growth in the San Fernando Valley by increasing sewage capacity.

``The more sewage that can be treated, the more development that can occur,'' he said, ``and that means more habitat ruined.''

Homeowners groups were more vehement about a plan they say is odorous to its core, no matter how many boardwalks are built above it..

``A lot of frosting on the cake,'' said Gerald Silver, president of Homeowners of Encino, which has long fought a wetlands originally proposed for 500 acres, one-third of the Sepulveda Basin. ``But the reality is this takes 60 acres of prime recreation land out of service for good.''

Among the park's chief problems, according to opponents:

-- Spewing odors from treated wastewater into adjacent Encino and Van Nuys neighborhoods.

-- Creating a hotbed for mosquito growth.

-- Imperiling planes at Van Nuys Airport with errant birds.

-- Removing open space with a permanent wetland locked in by federal environmental laws.

-- Promoting growth through increased sewage treatment output.

Sanitation officials disagreed with every point and vowed to work closely with community groups on a final plan. They might have to overcome large opposition from homeowners.

The wetlands park ``has no benefit to the community and will emit odors,'' said David Rankell, a board member of the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. ``When the city throws in other things to improve the project, what we smell is foul.''

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WETLANDS PARK

The city has issued a new plan to create a Sepulveda Wetlands Park on roughly 60 acres in the southeast corner of the Sepulveda Basin. This is smaller than an earlier proposal that called for flooding hundreds of acres.