“Low Impact Development” | Search Results | L.A. Creek Freak

Not Enough to Waste – New Water Solutions Booklet from Green L.A.

August 4, 2010 § 4 Comments

Cover and sample pages from Not Enough to Waste booklet - image from Designed by Colleen website

I had the pleasure of reading a handsome new booklet that gives a great overview of Los Angeles water issues. It’s called Not Enough Water to Waste: Solutions to Securing L.A.’s Water Future and it’s published by Green L.A. Coalition‘s water team – many of the same folks in the coalition that’s actively pushing to get Los Angeles’ Low Impact Development (LID) ordinance passed.

« Read the rest of this entry »

News and Events – 13 July 2010

July 13, 2010 § 2 Comments

LAist photo of George Wolfe navigating the L.A. River. For more navigability stuff, watch the Rock the Boat movie and read lots of coverage - links and details below.

UPCOMING EVENTS

> From 3pm to 5pm this Thursday July 15th 2010 join the Village Gardeners and TreePeople to trim and mulch native vegetation on the L.A. River in Sherman Oaks. Event details here.

> Watch the film about the 2008 Kayak expedition that proved that the L.A. River is navigable today! Rock the Boat screens this Friday July 16th 2010 at the Audbon Center at Debs Park. That’s at 4700 Griffin Avenue in Highland Park, easy walk from the Southwest Museum Metro Gold Line Station. Birding walk at 6:45pm. At 8pm two films screen. First: Paddle to the Sea – a short film based on the classic children’s book. Second: Rock the Boat. Admission is free – though donations for Rock the Boat will be accepted. More event information at Audubon and Facebook.

> From 8am to 3pm this Sunday July 17th, Jenny Price leads a Hidden L.A. car caravan tour of the Los Angeles River. Features tacos and cream puffs. More information and registration here.

> **UPDATED – POSTPONED SEE COMMENT BELOW The city of Los Angeles LID (Low Impact Development) ordinance will be heard at the 9am Tuesday July 20th 2010 meeting of the city council’s Energy and Environment Committee, which takes place room 1010 on the 10th floor at Los Angeles City Hall. Background on LID here and here. Committee agenda will be here, once posted (should be up Friday this week.) Follow the LID city council motion 09-1554 here, including RSS feed.

Riverdale Avenue Green Street Under Construction

April 3, 2010 § 5 Comments

View of the Riverdale Green Street project under construction. Photo taken from the street-end mini-park, my back to the L.A. River

On my way home from leading a river walking tour for a Pomona College class, I was riding the newly-paved Elysian Valley Los Angeles River bike path (completely rideable, but not quite officially open… but since when do creek freaks wait for projects to be declared open?) I noticed that construction is underway on the Riverdale Avenue Green Street project. The Riverdale project retrofits an existing street to cleanse rainwater runoff before it enters the Los Angeles River. After the jump, there’s more information on the Riverdale Green Street scope, background and other juicy details.

« Read the rest of this entry »

News and Events – 2 February 2010

February 2, 2010 § Leave a comment

Cheongyecheon creek in Seoul, South Korea - photo: rinux via wikimedia

UPCOMING EVENTS

Inspirational Korean daylighting on Cheongyechon creek (presentation) – Thursday February 4th 2010 at 6:30pm, Korean Cultural Center, 5505 Wilshire Blvd, L.A. 90036. (Also read L.A. Creek Freak article on Cheongyechon)
Friends of the L.A. River fundraiser dinner – Saturday, February 6th 2010 at 5pm, Union Station.
C.I.C.L.E. Urban Expedition Creek Freak Bike Ride – Saturday, February 20th 2010 departing at 12:30pm from L.A. River Center, 570 W. Ave 26, L.A. 90065. Free, family-friendly beginner-friendly bike ride on the brand new Elysian Valley bike path – including commentary by creek freak’s very own Joe Linton. (Also read L.A. Creek Freak’s article on the new path)

RECOMMENDED RECENT NEWS

Garvanza Park will soon receive a North East Trees water harvesting makeover (90042 Highland Park blog)
Louis Sahagun’s wandering Santa Ana Sucker story (L.A. Times)
There’s a hole in the bucket, dear Liza – harvesting rainwater (Andy Lipkis’ blog)
Low Impact Development for city of L.A. (L.A. Times)
The subconscious art of graffiti removal (Wooster Collective)

LID Ordinance Approved by Public Works Committee

January 18, 2010 § 4 Comments

Permeable pavement sidewalk at L.A. Eco-Village. When LID passes we should see more of these kinds of rainwater infiltration practices thoughout Los Angeles.

Last Friday January 15th 2010, the Low Impact Development (or “LID”) ordinance was approved unanimously by the city of Los Angeles’ Board of Public Works. I recommend reading Spouting Off’s excellent coverage.

First off, big props to Public Works Commissioner Paula Daniels who has spearheaded L.A.’s work on LID. There are certainly lots of other commissioners, city staff, non-profit folks (and even bloggers on the sidelines) who’ve done some worthwhile work on this LID effort, but Commissioner Daniels has really been the driving force on this one. She’s an articulate and committed environmentalist, a valued friend, and a true creek freak! Kudos to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa for appointing such a great leader to serve on the board that oversees the city’s public works.

After the jump below, L.A. Creek Freak links you to LID background, posts Green L.A. Coalition’s announcement, and highlights LID’s next steps.

« Read the rest of this entry »

News and Events – 6 January 2010

January 6, 2010 § Leave a comment

SOME RECENT CREEK FREAK NEWS:

>Heal the Bay executive director Mark Gold’s Spouting Off blog has an excellent 2-part series called Memo to Antonio – outlining a progressive environmental/water agenda for L.A. in the year ahead. To read it, click here1 and here2. Gold’s recommendations include many of L.A. Creek Freak’s favorite topics: Low Impact Development (LID), Stream Protection, improved Water Quality and more! TreePeople’s Andy Lipkis also recently weighed in on LID.

>The San Gabriel River has newly completed guerilla landscaping – in Pico Rivera. Shade of Ernie’s Walk and Portland City Repair!

Trash boom on Ballona Creek - yeeech! Photo from the South Los Angeles Report

>The South Los Angeles Report tells about teaching science using the story of trash in L.A. waterways and in the Pacific Ocean. Read and watch their findings here.

>The city of Pasadena is working with neighbors to preserve and improve Annandale Canyon – which is nestled in between West Pasadena and Eagle Rock. More information here. (Thanks to Meredith ArroyoLover McKenzie – also read her recent tribute to the York Boulevard Bridge.)

>Lastly, please be careful when exploring local creeks during the wet season. The Los Angeles Times’ L.A. Now reports a sad story of a youth and his dog swept away by Brea Creek.

UPCOMING CREEK FREAK EVENTS:

>Albion Dairy River Park community input meeting this Saturday January 9th at 10am at Downey Recreation Center. Info at the project website at albionparkproject.org

Bresee Foundation's innovative Bimini Slough Ecology Park - which features a creekbed bioswale that cleanses street stormwater run-off before it enters Ballona Creek. Photo from calrecycle.ca.gov

>On Saturday January 16th, C.I.C.L.E. hosts a free, beginner-friendly bike tour of urban gardens. Ride leaders include L.A. Creek Freak Joe Linton (tha’s me! and yes – interested party plug alert – I get paid to do this) and ride features brief tour of the Bimini Slough Ecology Park and water harvesting gardens at L.A. Eco-Village.

>Jenny Price leads FoLAR’s tour of the Mighty Los Angeles on Sunday January 24th.

First L.A. River Revitalization Corporation Meeting Tomorrow

November 30, 2009 § 1 Comment

L.A. City River Revitalization Plan vision for the L.A. River in Canoga Park

The city of Los Angeles’ Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan (LARRMP) calls for three new entities to govern river work on the 32 miles of river within the city. A while back, L.A. Creek Freak ran a bit of background on the Los Angeles River Revitalization Corporation – which is being called the “RRC.” The RRC will hold its first ever meeting tomorrow night, Tuesday December 1st from 5:30pm to 7:30pm at the Community Redevelopment Agency’s (CRA) downtown offices, at 354 S. Spring Street, 6th Floor, LA 90013. The meeting is open to the public; the meeting agenda is available here.

The RRC is a sort of hybrid creature. It’s actually its own stand-alone 501(c)3 non-profit organization… but it’s initial board is appointed by the city. It will need to straddle the territory of being sufficiently city-ish to work with city departments and being sufficiently independent enough to be able to bring in foundation and private funding. The RRC will work on a varied portfolio that can include projects directly on the river as well as in adjacent neighborhoods. Initially the city’s CRA will be providing the RRC with basic administrative support. For more RRC background see this earlier blog post.

RRC boardmembers have been appointed by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Council President Eric Garcetti, and Ad Hoc River Committee chair Ed Reyes. Creek Freak snooped around and go the list of the appointed individuals who will serve on the initial RRC board:

Harry B. Chandler – descendant of the prominent Los Angeles Chandler family (of L.A. Times, Chandler Boulevard, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion) now a photographer.
Dennis Martinez – an engineer with extensive experience in public works projects, co-founder of RMA Construction Services, and formerly a commissioner on the city’s Cultural Heritage Commission.
Bruce Saito – head of the Los Angeles Conservation Corps – a local organization that does various youth conservation and education work. The LACC that does a similar straddle to what the RRC will need to do – LACC does governmental agency work while functioning more-or-less as a non-profit.
Daniel Tellalian – director of Emerging Markets, Inc. which helps foster economic development in low-income neighborhoods.
Daphne Zuniga – actress probably best known for her role in the TV series Melrose Place. Zuniga has a history of environmental and environmental justice advocacy.

It’s an impressive group! Creek Freak wishes them good luck with their work to revitalize our neglected local waterways and the communities around them. If any of you would like a river tour or any background on items Creek Freak can help with, let us know. Our contact information is on our About Us page.

Additionally, tomorrow night the city’s Bureau of Sanitation (BOS) is hosting an additional public input meeting for its proposed Low Impact Development (LID) ordinance. That meeting is 6:30pm tomorrow (Tuesday December 1st 2009) at BOS offices at 2714 Media Center Drive, LA 90065. Announcement flier here. Some Creek Freak LID background here and here.

Rainy Morning L.I.D. Workshop at Augustus Hawkins Park

October 14, 2009 § 5 Comments

Wetlands at Augustus Hawkins Nature Park

L.A. Creek Freak was happy to train and bike down to Augustus F. Hawkins Natural Park for a city of Los Angeles Low Impact Development (LID) workshop this morning.

The highlight of the trip was exploring parts of the park while it was lightly raining. I hadn’t visited the site since 2005, when I wrote about it as a side trip in my book. The 8-acre park is located at the intersection of Compton and Slauson Avenues in South L.A. – two blocks west of the Slauson Metro Blue Line Station.

The park opened around 2002. It incorporated some of healthy older trees already at the site. The older and newer trees have grown tall and stately. The park features a nature center, picnic area, and paths that wind and spiral through areas of restored native vegetation. The landscape has grown in a great deal, and looked really lush in the rain.

Today’s LID workshop, the last of four scheduled, had about 30 people in attendance, including representation from developers, architects, consultants and engineers, all trying to wrap their heads around the new ordinance.

The workshop presentation was by Shahram Kharaghani, the head of the city Sanitation Bureau’s Watershed Protection division. The description of the ordinance is pretty much the same as what creek freak described in this earlier post. Kharaghani asserted that the city is doing the new LID requirements in advance of them being required as part of the city’s stormwater permit, which is due to be renewed in 2010.

LID is anticipated to consist of an ordinance and a handbook, which Kharaghani stated would be on-line in draft form “soon.”Kharaghani stressed that LID apply to everything public and private, and that the rainwater features prioritized will be natural ones.

While slides showed a seemingly orderly flowchart decision tree, questions revealed the gray areas open to some interpretation. It’s not completely clear exactly how green roofs, treatment of off-site run-off, hillside development, single-family home best management practices (BMP’s) etc. will be handled, but perhaps the soon-to-be online documents can offer additional guidance. It appears that the main bottom-line standard is the capture of that 85th percentile rainstorm on site.

Kharaghani anticipated that LID requirements would take effect approximately February 2010 – first they go before the Public Works board, city council and mayor for approval.

News and Events plus Contest! – 30 September 2009

September 30, 2009 § 5 Comments

NEWS!

>Los Angeles Times’ invaluable Louis Sahagun on the recent bulldozing of Compton Creek. Sad story, with a great picture of Heal the Bay’s James Alamillo wading in the soft-bottom creek.

>L.A. Team Effort shows off the city’s new SUSMP handbook. SUSMP stands for Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan. The new handbook looks great and the content includes a lot of great watershed management practices.

EVENTS:

>Come hear L.A. Creek Freak Jessica Hall speaking at Farmlab at noon on Friday October 9th. Free, including free lunch!

>The city of Los Angeles is hosting series of four public meetings on its wonderful proposed Low Impact Development (or “LID”) ordinance. Complete meeting information is posted in the comments section of Creek Freak’s recent LID post. Meetings are October 1st, 6th, 8th and 14th – all 10am to noon. First meeting is this Thursday at Bureau of Sanitation’s Media Center Offices at Taylor Yard.

>The city of Compton hosts a Compton Creek Clean-Up on Saturday October 17th from 7am to 12:30pm at Raymond Street Park.

>The city of Los Angeles has released the full new draft Bicycle Plan, which includes waterways designated for new bike paths. Creek Freak’s earlier post about the plan is here. The full bike plan documents are available on the city’s Bike Plan website. The city will be hosting four public meetings on October 22nd, 24th, 26th, and 28th.

> On Sunday, October 26th Jenny Price leads Friends of the L.A. River’s South L.A. River Tacos & Paletas Carpool Tour.

CONTEST!

Name the location where the photograph was taken below, and win a copy of Dorothy Green’s book Managing Water: Avoiding Crisis in California. Enter your answer in the comments section. If you’re the first commenter with the right answer, Creek Freak will mail you the book. (PS. I expect that it looks kinda difficult, kinda anonymous… but it’s actually a pretty unique spot. If nobody guesses it, I promise that I will give hints.)

Where is this?? Enter your answer in the comments below.

Where in the watershed is this?? Enter your answer in the comments below.

City’s Bid for L.I.D.

September 18, 2009 § 5 Comments

Andy Lipkis beginning the tour of LID features at TreePeople's headquarters.

L.A. Creek Freak pedaled up the newly-repaired Coldwater Canyon Avenue to bring our readers the latest on the plan to bring LID to the city of Los Angeles. This blog entry tells about the city’s LID efforts, and in it, Creek Freak spends as much time on important digressions as I do on the specifics of LID!

LID stands for Low Impact Development. LID is basically an approach to solving multiple water issues by detaining and/or infiltrating rainwater. There’s a longer and slightly more technical explantion for LID at Wikipedia. LID is beneficial for increasing water quality, increasing water supply, and even preventing flooding and curbing global warming. It tends to include features like cisterns, rain barrels, bioswales, infiltration galleries, mulch, and the like. It’s stuff that our keen-eyed readers are already at least somewhat familiar with, though Creek Freak hasn’t called it LID that often.

(Digression #1 – Language: A couple of my minor semantic pet peeves here: I tend to slightly resent that the term LID has come to mean site sustainability only in regards to stormwater, when there are many other factors that might lessen a development’s negative environmental impact. These factors can range from transportation to energy to social space to building materials… even stream protection and minimizing water usage through greater efficiency or greywater. None of which is part of what is called LID – so what LID is covers a very important slice – but not the entirety of impacts. Also, “impact” can be positive or negative – so I what I really want is “high-impact” development that is highly restorative – like a shopping center that daylights and restores a creek in its midst! Nonetheless, what LID actually is is definitely a really good wonderful creeky-freaky thing. Let’s do LID and do all these other important environmental endeavors!)

On Tuesday morning, TreePeople, Green L.A. Coalition, and the Urban Land Institute hosted a discussion on LID. Presenters included TreePeople’s Andy Lipkis, green developer Greg Reitz of REthink Development, and Los Angeles City Public Works Commissioner Paula Daniels. The meeting was hosted at TreePeople’s very cool muy-sustainable Center for Community Forestry, a proud example of LID in practice. Lipkis reviewed what LID is, and why it’s important. Reitz showed examples of what it can look like for multi-family developments.

Commissioner Daniels went into greatest detail about the current efforts to get LID adopted into law as a requirement for development, similar to what has already been done in Ventura County and in Los Angeles County’s unincorporated areas. The idea for the city of L.A. is to expand what is known as the SUSMP – the Standard Urban Stormwater Mitigation Plan – pronounced “Sue-Sump.” SUSMP is one step that developers already have to do when they build in L.A. Depending on the size of the development, SUSMP requires various practices and features to prevent strormwater pollution, both during construction activities and once the development is complete. This results in those sandbags that we see around construction sites… and quite a few other things that are less apparent.

(Digression #2 – A Vague Critical History of L.A.’s SUSMP: I am not an expert on how SUSMP works in L.A., but it’s my impression, historically, that it has been… shall we say… wimpy. It was sort of the least we could do, without the regional water board getting angry at us. It didn’t apply unless the development was huge, and even so, it mostly pertained to best practices during construction, without much in the way of long-term watershed management. It seems like L.A.’s SUSMP was revised and got a little better around a half-dozen years ago… but it still seems like it isn’t resulting in very much in the way of environmentally effective rainwater features. If you’re interested in reading even more about SUSMP, here’s the city’s SUSMP page, and the county’s 150-page 2002 SUSMP manual.)

Under the proposed new LID rules, SUSMP will take a big step forward. There’s apparently a draft ordinance circulating. It is described as applying to all new development and significant redevelopment. It will require sites to capture and re-use and/or infiltrate all the runoff that would be generated by the 85th percentile storm, hence only in very large storms would runoff leave the site.

The new ordinance is supposed to go before the city’s Board of Public Works for approval soon, then in October to the L.A. City Council’s committee on Energy and Environment, and hopefully will be approved by the full council before the end of the year.

L.A. City's 2009 LID Report

(Digression #3 – Transparency: This is a really good proposal that really good people – true Creek Freak friends and allies – intend to have approved by the end of the year, but L.A. Creek Freak searched and searched couldn’t find more than a whiff of the planned ordinance online. On the city’s websites, LID appears in a couple places. There’s a LID city council motion 09-1554 that was introduced in June 2009, but hasn’t had any activity or supporting documents to date. There’s a LID page with LID links and even a good reports on what LID is – the informative 2009 Green Infrastructure for Los Angeles: Addressing Urban Runoff and Water Supply Through Low Impact Development. But there’s nothing I could find about the ordinance itself. I’d suggest that it would be a really good transparent-government-2.0-kinda-thing to get the draft ordinance up on-line somewhere… preferably somewhere the public can post comments… perhaps it could at least be posted at the city’s stormwater blog L.A. Team Effort? It’s the 21st century and there’s this great tool called the internet where the cost to post and notify is so negligible and the ability to build trust can be invaluable. Not revealing the draft ordinance can result in suspicion and skepticism. Publishing it can help facilitate a public dialog, build awareness, build support.)

After the meeting wound down, Andy Lipkis lead a tour of the rainwater features at the center site, including their huge cistern and their educational watershed garden. All very inspiring! I am looking forward to the new LID ordinance bringing more inspiring new rainwater projects into the mainstream of Los Angeles development.