L.A. River Conservancy OKd by State Senate : Environment: Revitalization of concrete-lined channel proposed by Torres moves forward. But it faces an uncertain future in the Assembly.

When Sen. Art Torres looks at the concrete-lined Los Angeles River channel he sees a vibrant landscape lined with parks, businesses and homes, all served by an elevated mass transit system.

On Friday, Torres saw one step taken toward realizing his dream of revitalizing riot-scarred areas and bringing thousands of jobs to communities along the channel. By a 31-0 vote, the state Senate approved a measure by the Los Angeles Democrat to establish the Los Angeles River Conservancy.

Torres told his colleagues that in the wake of the riots the conservancy idea amounts to a new approach to improving the river corridor, which stretches from the San Fernando Valley to Long Beach. “Help me restore the only scenic river I have in my district,” he urged his colleagues.

If approved by the Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Pete Wilson, the measure would probably be one of the most sweeping legislative proposals enacted after the unrest.

But with the legislative session scheduled to end Aug. 31, the measure awaits an uncertain fate in the Assembly.

The bill would establish a seven-member conservancy board appointed by local officials to develop a comprehensive plan to restore and redevelop the river and to develop a mass transit system along the riverbank. There would also be 26 non-voting board members from a cross-section of environmental, labor, business and ethnic groups as well as state agencies.

Torres told his colleagues that no general funds from the state treasury would be needed by the new regional agency. He said the conservancy could tap state urban waterfront bonds, federal funds and other sources to begin to implement the plan, scheduled for completion by 1995.

Torres and his staff estimate that the plan could create 30,000 construction jobs.

Corey Brown, a Planning and Conservation League board member who helped draft the legislation, said the waterway is a “tremendously underused resource.”

Brown said the measure “demonstrates that economic recovery and environmental restoration go hand in hand. We can create jobs and stimulate business while providing state parks for our children and restore wildlife habitat.”

The 50-mile 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, flowing into San Pedro Bay at Long Beach.

About 35 miles of the waterway are paved. Only about five miles of natural riverbed exist: in the Sepulveda Basin, near Griffith Park and near Willow Street in Long Beach.

For years, a political debate has swirled over whether the channel can be transformed. In February, after heavy rains, a city task force unveiled a proposal to turn the waterway into a recreational, cultural and scenic facility.

Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar) has championed a proposal to turn the usually parched riverbed into a roadway to ease freeway traffic. Katz has suggested using the channel during dry weather for buses and people car-pooling between downtown Los Angles and the San Fernando Valley and for trucks between downtown and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.

Katz was not available for comment on the Torres legislation, which was passed by the Senate after a brief debate.