COUNTYWIDE : Board May Impose Park User Fees

Establishing fees for using county nature parks and trails is to be considered by Los Angeles County supervisors as early as today as part of an effort to keep the areas open in the face of budget reductions.

The proposal, made by County Chief Administrative Officer Richard Dixon, calls for users of the 330-mile trail system to carry an annual pass, which would cost an estimated $23. At the 19 nature parks, spread throughout the county, visitors would be charged $3 a day for parking.

This was the second year that the county Department of Parks and Recreation had proposed cutting all funds for the parks and trails, which together cost more than $1.2 million a year to operate and maintain.

The fees are expected to provide only a small portion of that funding, but Dixon’s proposal also calls for more volunteers to be used, for money to be transferred from some other funds and for some maintenance to be postponed.