Officials Confront Drinking, Crowding at Orcas Park : Lake View Terrace: Authorities seek a remedy after a police officer is struck by a rock during a weekend disturbance.

After a melee at Orcas Park in Lake View Terrace in which police had to dodge rocks and bottles thrown at them, authorities on Monday were attempting to come up with a plan to control weekend overcrowding and drinking at the facility.

One officer was hit with a rock Sunday afternoon when several people at the park, which is part of the Hansen Dam Recreation Area, grew angry after officers attempted to stop a man from openly drinking alcohol, Los Angeles Police Capt. Gabe Ornelas said. More than 1,000 people were in the park when the disturbance began about 5:45 p.m., he said.

“They tried to tell him that you can’t drink in the park,” Ornelas said. “Words were exchanged. . . . The rocks and bottles started flying.”

Backup officers were called from throughout the San Fernando Valley and the park was cleared of people and closed for the day, police said. One officer was treated and released after being hit in the shoulder by a rock, and four men were arrested on suspicion of assault on a police officer for throwing objects.

Ornelas and Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks officials said the facility south of Foothill Boulevard has long been a traditional weekend gathering spot for hundreds of residents of the area. The park offers dozens of tree-shaded picnic tables and barbecues surrounded by open fields. Other areas of the sprawling recreation area have far fewer or no tables available.

Martin Castille, a senior park maintenance supervisor, said Orcas Park is the oldest developed section of the Hansen Dam Recreation Area. It is the most popular spot because it has the most mature shade trees and tables--and because it is a picnic spot that some local families have used for generations.

“This particular park is really shady and it has been there a long time,” Castille said. “People have grown up there and it is well known to them.”

But the weekend gatherings have grown over the years to the point that the approximately five-acre park is too crowded, parking problems are monumental and safety is a concern, Ornelas said.

The park’s users quickly fill its 300-car parking lot each weekend morning. An overfill lot that could take another 100 cars is no longer available this summer because it is being used by a nearby equestrian center. People illegally park on the lone entrance road and often the road becomes clogged.

“When that parking lot gets full, they park on the road and it is impossible to get an emergency vehicle in there,” Ornelas said. “If somebody gets hurt, we can’t get an ambulance in there.”

Because there are only two city park rangers to monitor parks throughout the San Fernando Valley, police this summer have been placing four officers in the park on an overtime basis. But Ornelas said the crowd can become unruly when officers attempt to enforce anti-drinking laws.

Castille said he believes weekend drinking in the park may be on the rise. He said many who use the park are poor or middle class and are feeling the pinch of difficult economic times.

“People are frustrated and mad--I think it’s because of the economy,” Castille said. “They are looking for a place they can go and enjoy and get a nice cool breeze.”

Castille said the Department of Recreation and Parks is currently designing changes that may ease problems at the park.

On the drawing board is a proposal to use a nearby field as a parking lot for 200 additional cars, he said. A new exit road is being planned and the department is trying to create picnic spots elsewhere in the Hansen Dam area. He said picnic tables and barbecues from other, lesser-used parks in the city may be moved to these new areas.

“We are hoping to encourage people to use other areas of the park,” Castille said. “There are some in existence and we would like to create more.”

Meanwhile, police are formulating more immediate plans to deal with the problems, Ornelas said. He said police will meet with rangers and Department of Recreation and Parks officials to discuss the possibility of closing the park after its parking lot reaches capacity on weekends.

Ornelas said those turned away from the full park will be directed to other parts of the Hansen Dam Recreation Area to the west. He said police will also contact the city Department of Transportation to see if signs can be made that will inform park users of other spots in the recreation area where parking and picnic tables are available.

Police will also begin handing out flyers in the Orcas parking lot that will be written in Spanish and English and warn that drinking is illegal in the park, Ornelas said.