Committee OKs Bill for L.A. River Master Plan : Parks: $500,000 recreational study measure goes next to the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

An Assembly committee on Tuesday sought to set a new course for the Los Angeles River, approving a bill providing $500,000 to finance a master plan for turning the concrete-lined channel into a lush recreation area stretching from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach.

After a 90-minute hearing, the Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee voted 9-0 to send the proposal by Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) to the Ways and Means Committee. It previously was approved by the Senate.

Torres described Tuesday’s action as “a very significant step” toward turning the 58-mile-long channel into a recreational oasis, which would include jogging and bike trails and picnic areas.

Under the Torres proposal, the state Coastal Conservancy, which was set up to preserve coastal and inland waterways, would be given two years to prepare a master plan for turning the river into a park and recreation area. One goal of the master plan would be to determine the cost of such a project, which supporters anticipate would be borne by local governments.

The river begins in the San Fernando Valley and winds east through the narrows at Glendale, past downtown Los Angeles and through the industrial towns of Vernon, Bell, South Gate and Compton, finally flowing into San Pedro Bay at Long Beach.

For more than a year, politicians have offered competing visions for the future of the channel.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) has pressed a proposal to establish a riverbed roadway for trucks, buses and car pools. Katz also has incorporated greenbelts, schools, shops and homes into his concept for the river.

Torres countered with his own vision for the river as an open space, recreational mecca.

Meanwhile, Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley has established a local task force to determine the best use for the river, emphasizing open space.

And the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been pushing to increase the height of levees along the river to stop a massive flood that could inundate most of Long Beach and all or part of 15 Southeast and South Bay cities.

The clash over the river’s future resurfaced at Tuesday’s hearing.

Katz, who sits on the Water Committee but did not vote on the Torres bill, maintained that his concept for the river is compatible with the senator’s.

“We can solve transportation (problems) . . . and provide recreational space at the same time,” Katz said.

At the urging of Katz, Torres accepted several amendments to ensure that the park plan help reduce air pollution and include compatible uses for the river.

Torres maintained that Katz’s expressway proposal and the creation of a river recreation area are not compatible. But he said that a monorail line could fit into the recreation area he envisions.

The Torres proposal is favored by several environmental groups, including Friends of the Los Angeles River, the Planning and Conservation League and the Sierra Club.

It is opposed by the state Department of Parks and Recreation. Bobbie Garcia, representing the department, told the committee that the Torres bill has merit. But she said her agency is concerned about the availability of $500,000 in state money to pay for the river master plan.