MASTER PLAN FOR GRIFFITH PARK EXTENDED.

Byline: Lisa Mascaro Staff Writer

The 25-year-old Griffith Park Master Plan is being updated to extend it for another quarter-century as the city's 4,100-acre hilltop park is expected to welcome a growing number of residents.

The new 25-year master plan will focus on strengthening the preservation of open space in the park and better organization of the developed areas, planners said.

It also will look at ways to possibly improve access to the nearby Los Angeles River, providing connections to the Sepulveda Basin Recreation Area to the north and Elysian Park to the south.

``It's about time that we revisit the master plan,'' said Tom Breckner, a recreation and parks department staffer working on the project.

A series of community workshops kicks off Monday evening and will continue for the next three Mondays in June. Monday's meeting focuses on the park's natural environment, with subsequent meetings devoted to the built environment and to transportation and circulation.

Breckner said the plan also tries to establish natural resource protections - for example, guidelines on the best trees to plant - for park managers and users in the future.

The $375,000 master plan process is being paid from the park's budget, with funds generated from the park facilities, Breckner said. A draft plan will be compiled after the community meetings, and the final plan is to be presented to the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners next spring.

Griffith Park is the largest municipal park in the United States, with 10 million visitors annually.

IF YOU GO:

The Griffith Park Master Plan workshops are scheduled for 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Monday and on June 16 and June 23 at Friendship Auditorium, 3201 Riverside Drive, Los Angeles.

Comments may be submitted to: Griffith Park Master Plan, 3900 W. Chevy Chase Drive, Mail Stop 656-3, Los Angeles, 90039.

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IF YOU GO (see text)