RESCUING THE L.A. RIVER; STUDIO CITY RESIDENTS DEBATE PLAN FOR GREENWAY.

Byline: Michael Coit Daily News Staff Writer

Infamous for movie car chases when dry and swift-water rescues when roiling, the concrete-lined Los Angeles River long has needed a new image - and momentum is building to make it a greenway.

Community leaders in Studio City believe a reach of the river through their community can be an attraction drawing crowds of strollers rather than an eyesore where only an occasional jogger or pet walker finds refuge.

What is now a dirt path, less than a mile long, bordered by chain-link fencing, eucalyptus and pine, would be improved through a pilot greening project with irrigated landscaping and lighting, benches and walkways to nearby Ventura Boulevard.

``It's a good greening project because it's in the center of our community. People can access it, see it and live it every day,'' said Tony Lucente, president of the Studio City Residents Association.

``It's a prime spot because the river kind of curves, so it's got scenic potential. It's got businesses on one side and residences on the other side, so it provides an interesting environment.''

The river's divide, however, could symbolize a split between residents and merchants if the historically contentious interests can't find common ground on the scale of the proposed greenway.

A separate project to build a 400-space city parking garage next to the river project already is divisive.

``We have a small-town atmosphere, and window shopping is especially great. We're one of those types of towns where you can park in one place and do the whole town. But the problem now is it's very tough to find parking,'' said Dan Burrell, managing partner of the California Pizza Kitchen on Ventura Boulevard.

While there is general support for a parking structure, the focus again will be on the design's scale.

``They talk about landscaping, and they talk about irrigation, but we're going to have to wait a long time until that landscaping covers the structure,'' said Miriam Enright, whose home faces the site from across the river.

``I'm not adverse to the businesses being successful. We patronize those businesses, and we want them to be good neighbors. The problem is they want to grow and grow and grow, and as in all neighborhoods, parking is a problem.''

City Councilman Mike Feuer said there have been a number of good ideas for transforming areas of the river in the past, but very little money. ``The river can be either a source of blight or a community resource.''

Aware that parking conflicts have long divided Studio City residents and merchants, Feuer said he vowed to find a solution. ``Now the question isn't whether to build the structure, but its precise design and how it can relate to the river.''

The greening project became possible when Los Angeles voters approved Proposition K in 1996. The $750 million in bond money includes $10 million for enhancement projects along the Los Angeles River between Sepulveda Basin and Universal City.

Consultants are working with a neighborhood oversight committee, as required by the bond language, on both a master plan for the entire project and the specific design and construction for the Studio City section. Budgeted for $200,000, the work should be completed in less than a year, said Ron Berkowitz, the city's senior park maintenance supervisor leading the oversight committee.

The Studio City section, from Whitsett Avenue to Laurel Canyon Boulevard, was nominated by a Valleywide bond oversight committee. The design work is intended as a model for the other river enhancement efforts.

``We're not just going to throw in some shrubs and trees. We're going to find out what can and can't be done,'' Berkowitz explained.

``We're going to set a standard. What we're going to do here will affect everything else,'' he said.

Melanie Winter, as executive director of Friends of the Los Angeles River, welcomes the challenge of getting people to think of the river as a resource rather than an urban wash, despite its utilitarian, concrete trough appearance.

The nonprofit group was formed in 1986 to champion river restoration. This project is more ambitious and builds on the paths and pocket parks going in along the river's Glendale Narrows section.

``When you look at the concrete box channel, it's really difficult to envision its future,'' Winter acknowledged.

``So what helps people to envision its future is acknowledging its past and seeing the few places where we've been able to do some work and going to places like Sepulveda Basin. People recognize it as a river and then they can envision that and begin seeing it as a resource,'' she said.

The Los Angeles River runs from its headwaters at the confluence of Bell and Calabasas creeks, behind Canoga Park High School, to San Pedro Bay in Long Beach. The river's 52-mile reach drains most of the Santa Susana, Santa Monica and San Gabriel mountains.

Los Angeles drew much of its water from the river before the city's aqueduct was completed and brought water from the Sierra Nevada beginning in 1913.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers encased much of the river in concrete in the 1930s for flood control.

Today, less than 13 miles is a living river, supporting willows, sycamores and other riparian vegetation. No fewer than 300 species of birds use the river as part of the Pacific Flyway for nesting and habitat. The Arroyo chub and Santa Ana sucker are endangered fish found in the river's watershed.

Treated wastewater and occasional stormwater sustain the year-round flows.

River of concrete

There is little life and sometimes even less water to be found in the Studio City stretch of the river, a typical concrete-lined section.

That doesn't deter Feuer and community leaders. They talk about altering the 14-foot-high sides to soften the appearance, and employing inflatable dams to capture low summer flows in pools.

``The river needs to continue to perform a flood control function, but it can do so while enhancing the aesthetic environment of this area,'' Feuer said.

At the least, the project would change the character of the south bank above the river.

Merchants envision a river walk drawing shoppers and an opportunity for their mix of small shops and restaurants to open onto the area.

``The river is only a stone's throw from most of the businesses back here. We all do an awful lot of take out, and it would be a great place to go sit out there and look over the river,'' said Burrell, the pizza restaurateur and an oversight committee member.

Maintaining privacy

Residents favor more modest improvements that preserve the privacy of neighboring homes.

``There have been some problems with the restaurants that are open late and have loud music,'' Enright said.

``The river is a channel of concrete. When people are on the other side of the river talking in a normal voice, the sound reverberates against the channel,'' she said. ``If there's people walking at night and riding their bikes at night and laughing and talking, it could be very irritating.''

Lucente, an oversight committee member, said the residents' association has fought hard to limit impacts of businesses on residents north of the river and will respect their concerns during the design debate.

``This isn't San Antonio (Texas). They've got little lagoons and canals, and then they've got businesses on one or both sides.''

Winter happens to live within a few blocks of the Studio City project. Also a member of the neighborhood oversight committee, she recognizes the potential conflicts.

``The river is an interesting project. Every piece of the greenway has got to be reflective of the community that it's passing through,'' she said.

For instance, Winter joins merchants in favoring a path and patio linking the area with the proposed parking structure. But as a resident she has pushed for a scaled-back design.

The residents' association also wants the city to present alternative parking structure designs that could take the place of the proposed four-story edifice.

``It's incumbent on them,'' Lucente said. ``It's a balancing act when you're dealing with these kind of situations. But we desperately need parking in our community.''

Merchants want the proposed lot so patrons and employees don't park on residential streets, where the city has allowed residential permit parking over the objection of area businesses.

``I know we need 400 spaces, and aesthetically we're very much concerned that it does look good for everyone,'' Burrell said.

Security for both the greenway and parking structure is important to both merchants and residents.

The project's success also would depend on tree plantings and other improvements donated by merchants and the residents association.

``While we have our differences, we have a history of partnering with the business community,'' Lucente said.

CAPTION(S):

4 Photos, Map

PHOTO (1) Ducks check out the pickings on a stretch of the Los Angeles River not completely lined with concrete, allowing foliage to flourish.

(2) Melanie Winter, Friends of the Los Angeles River executive director, envisions changes that would create a more pleasant environment.

(3) Stretches of the Los Angeles River now attractive mostly to lone strollers could become lively destinations under some proposals.

(4) California poppies line the riverbank in Silver Lake, where beautification efforts have taken root.

Gus Ruelas/Daily News

MAP: Studio City - First site of project

Traci Wooden/Daily News