House OKs Money for Lake at Hansen Dam

The House of Representatives approved a $780,000 expenditure Wednesday to help restore the lake at Hansen Dam Recreation Area.

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City) included the money in the Energy and Water Appropriations Bill of 1989, which passed the House and was sent to the Senate. If passed by the Senate, the bill must be signed by President Bush before any money could actually be released to the Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks.

The lake, once a center for boating, swimming, fishing and water skiing in the northeast San Fernando Valley, filled with silt and debris during floods in 1969 and 1981.

Money included in Wednesday’s bill comes from a fund generated by fees paid by Bill Blomgren, who has a contract to harvest gravel left behind by the floods. Berman sponsored a bill in May, 1988, to earmark those royalty payments for the park revitalization and lake restoration.

Also, the $49.4-billion state budget approved Wednesday by the Assembly and sent to the state Senate contains $500,000 for the lake and surrounding recreation area. Those funds were sought by Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), Assemblywoman Marian W. La Follette (R-Northridge) and Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Tarzana).

Master Plan

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the land around the dam and leases it to the city, is developing a master plan for the area. That plan, paid for with $200,000 from the gravel trust fund, is expected in November.

In announcing release of that $200,000 last year, Berman vowed that a 20-acre lake would be completed by the end of 1988.

However, on Wednesday, Berman aide Marc Litchman said 1991 would be a better estimate. The lake will cost about $1 million to build, he said.

“We were being too optimistic, but I think we’re being realistic now,” Litchman said. “We’ve got to go through this master plan process by law. It all takes time.”

A pond created during the gravel removal has been declared a community hazard by the Corps of Engineers because its walls are too steep. Twice, most recently in April, corps officials have called for it to be filled in with sand.

City Councilman Ernani Bernardi is fighting that order because he believes that the pond is at least a start on a larger lake.