Interpretive Center Site Next to Madrona Marsh Approved

The Torrance City Council voted unanimously to set aside a two-acre site next to Madrona Marsh to build an interpretive center for the seasonal wetlands.

At the recommendation of the city naturalist, W. Walton Wright, the council also voted Tuesday to modify designs for a bike path around the marsh.

There are no proposed designs or cost estimates for the center, but Wright said he would like it to be about 12,000 square feet in area and house exhibits, a meeting room, public restrooms, a library and a laboratory where exhibits would be prepared.

The center, to be located on a vacant triangular parcel at Plaza Del Amo and Monterey Street, will include between 50 and 75 parking spaces, Wright said.

One of Few Wetlands Remaining

City officials said it is too early to estimate how long it will take to prepare designs, advertise for bids and begin construction of the center.

Madrona Marsh, which is bounded by Sepulveda Boulevard, Madrona Avenue, Maple Avenue and Plaza Del Amo, is one of the few vernal wetlands remaining in Southern California and is a refuge for about 140 species of migratory birds, frogs, snakes and other small animals.

The decision to move ahead with the center had the support of the Friends of Madrona Marsh, an environmental group dedicated to preserving the marsh, which has been lobbying for the interpretive center for years.

Last year the council approved plans for a bike path and sidewalk landscaped with trees and brush that would weave along the perimeter of the marsh, varying 40 to 60 feet inward from the street. A 17-foot-wide bike path already exists on the edge of the marsh along Sepulveda and part of Madrona.

Wright, who was hired in February as the city’s first full-time naturalist to oversee the preservation of the marsh, met with several city officials and suggested that the landscaping be eliminated and that the path be laid out closer to the street.

That way, Wright said, the bike path and sidewalk will occupy less marshland than under previous plans and will be easier to maintain.

The bike path and sidewalk will run along the border of the marsh on Sepulveda Boulevard, Madrona Avenue and Plaza Del Amo. The eastern boundary of the marsh along Maple Avenue will contain only a six-foot-wide sidewalk.

The bike path will connect with one that runs along Sepulveda, Crenshaw Boulevard, Monterey, and Madrona.

Changes Get Support

About six members of the Friends of Madrona Marsh attended the meeting and most gave tentative support to the bike path modifications.

Sam Suitt, former president of the Friends of Madrona Marsh, said he would prefer that the city not use marshland for a bike path, but added: “If you must have a bike path, then for heaven’s sake have it on the edge and make it straight.”

City officials have said they believe the bike path will provide a recreational benefit for residents while improving the appearance of the marsh.

The marsh was obtained by the city under a 1983 agreement with the developers of Park Del Amo, a massive residential and office project adjacent to the marsh. In the agreement, the developer won the right to build 1,482 residential units and 850,000 square feet of office space in exchange for donating 34 1/2 acres of marshland and selling an additional 8 1/2 acres to the city.

The agreement required the developer, Torrance Investment Co., to pay for a pathway and landscaping along Sepulveda, Madrona and Plaza Del Amo. Parks and Recreation Director Gene Barnett estimated that it will cost at least $750,000 for the complete bike path and sidewalk. The city will pay for the sidewalk along Maple Avenue.

60 Days to Act

The developer has 60 days to review and give final approval to the modifications approved by the council.

The city has applied for a $427,000 grant from the state Department of Parks and Recreation to help pay for other landscaping and improvements to the perimeter of the marsh and the medians of some adjacent streets. Wright said he is not sure when a decision on the grant is expected.

The City Council also voted to replace the rusting chain-link fence that encircles the marsh with a wrought-iron fence. The new fence will cost about $80,000--about $20,000 more than the cost of a new chain-link fence. City Council members said a wrought-iron fence is aesthetically superior to a chain-link fence.

Mayor Katy Geissert said the present chain-link fence diminishes the appearance of the marsh.

“We don’t permit (chain-link fences) around people’s front yards in this city,” she said. “I don’t see why we should have it around this important piece of property.”

Wright suggested that the city plant only native species of trees and vegetation within and along the perimeter of the marsh. For example, he suggests the city plant weeping willow, sycamore and cottonwood trees instead of eucalyptus trees, which inhabit the marsh and adjacent land.

“We should start looking at what the habitat was and we should try to keep that in mind,” he said in an interview. “A lot of people who have been looking at this have been trying to plant trees that would make this look like a botanical garden and that is not natural.”