RESERVOIR PRESERVATION ENDORSED; YOUTH SPORTS GROUPS SEEK PORTION AS PLAYING FIELDS.Byline: Michael Coit Staff Writer A proposal to preserve the ``vast majority'' of Chatsworth Reservoir was cautiously endorsed Monday by opponents of any development. With the proposal going before the Department of Water and Power Commission today, youth sports supporters are still hoping to get a slice of the site for playing fields. The proposal clearly favors reservoir neighbors and environmentalists who are seeking to preserve the out-of-service reservoir, but it could leave an opening for youth sports. At issue is the meaning of the recommendation ``to maintain a vast majority of the site as a nature preserve.'' ``We want it left as a nature preserve. Any development is a concern,'' said Chuck Gremer, president of the West Hills Property Owners Association. ``I think this should have been more definitive.'' Howard Greitzer, commissioner of the West Valley region of the American Youth Soccer Organization, said youth soccer fields should get consideration if even a small percentage of the 1,300-acre-site is not included in the preserve. ``There's still room for compromise. We've never asked for more than a tiny portion,'' he said. ``There's so much room there, it's just a tragedy to waste it.'' Commission Chairman Rick Caruso, however, said the proposal states clearly that there are no development plans. He said youth sports advocates shouldn't count on any favorable changes. ``If there's an opportunity to do something else on the property, that would be subject to the (city) council's future direction,'' he said. ``I think the likelihood of anything happening with this property would be slim and none.'' Environmentalists like Willis Simms are heartened by the prospect of preserving an area that features grasslands, oak groves Oak grove may refer to
Oak Grove is a common name for several places in the United States of America. and marshes. Drained after the 1971 Sylmar Earthquake when water officials found it seismically unstable, the reservoir provides habitat to more than 200 bird species, migrating Canada geese geese domestic geese which were derived from the wild goose Anser anser. There are many other species in this genus and in the other genus of geese, the Branta spp. of which Branta canadensis is typical. , bobcats and coyotes, mule deer mule deer Large-eared deer (Odocoileus hemionus) of western North America that lives alone or in small groups at high altitudes in summer and lower altitudes in winter. Mule deer stand 3–3. , roadrunners and jackrabbits and a variety of other mammals, amphibians amphibians members of the animal class Amphibia. Includes frogs, toads, newts, salamanders and cecilians all capable of living on land or in water. and reptiles reptiles terrestrial or aquatic vertebrates which breathe air through lungs and have a skin covering of horny scales. They are poikilothermic, oviparous or ovoviviparous, and, if they have legs they are short and constructed solely for crawling. . ``It's the only area left that's somewhat the way the Valley was before,'' Simms said. ``Some day human beings will have to pay the price for having destroyed nature, and we're just trying to slow it down.'' The recommendation doesn't go further than stating a preference for preservation, Caruso said, because the council and not the commission should decide any future changes. ``Frankly, I just wanted to dispose of To determine the fate of; to exercise the power of control over; to fix the condition, application, employment, etc. of; to direct or assign for a use. See also: Dispose this issue and get it off our back and put it back in the council's arena,'' he said. Included in the recommendation is a proposed advisory committee to annually review the department's stewardship of the reservoir. Members would represent interests including education, the environment, wildlife, sports, historical societies, homeowner groups, the commissioners, City Council and the Mayor's Office. The proposal also recommends seeking state and federal funds Federal Funds Funds deposited to regional Federal Reserve Banks by commercial banks, including funds in excess of reserve requirements. Notes: These non-interest bearing deposits are lent out at the Fed funds rate to other banks unable to meet overnight reserve to help pay $250,000 in annual maintenance costs and a partner to do outreach for educational and visitor opportunities. The department also plans to work with existing groups on tours and programs. Department officials have discussed such a partnership with The California Science Center The California Science Center (sometimes spelled California ScienCenter) is a state agency and museum located in Exposition Park, Los Angeles. Billed as the West Coast's largest hands-on science center, the California ScienCenter is a public-private partnership between the State , the city Recreation and Parks Department, the Los Angeles Zoo The Los Angeles Zoo founded in 1966, is a large zoo located in Los Angeles, California, USA. The Zoo, located in Los Angeles' Griffith Park, is home to 1,200 animals from around the world. and the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is an agency of the state of California in the United States founded in 1979 and dedicated to the acquisition of land in the Santa Susana and Santa Monica Mountains and the Simi Hills, north and west of Los Angeles, for preservation as open . CAPTION(S): map Map: Chatsworth |
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