Wilson Vetoes L.A. River Parkway Bill : Legislation: Backers vow to continue efforts to create a commercial development along the corridor, which runs from the San Fernando Valley to San Pedro Bay.

Citing “the increased potential” for flooding, Gov. Pete Wilson on Monday vetoed legislation to turn the 58-mile Los Angeles River corridor into an urban parkway augmented by commercial development and a high-speed railway.

Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) had pushed the proposal through the Legislature to set up the Los Angeles River Conservancy as a way of launching a sweeping plan to revitalize riot-scarred areas along the river corridor.

But Wilson said that “there has been a significant outcry against the measure by local government officials and citizens from Los Angeles County.” He said he was concerned about arguments from critics that the measure would undermine local control and increase the risk of flooding.

In addition, the governor said he was “troubled by the absence of a specific funding source for the many goals and duties of the new conservancy.”

Supporters immediately vowed to continue efforts to revitalize areas along the concrete river channel. The veto did not appear to have any effect on local plans for pilot projects to revitalize habitats along the river way, which runs from the San Fernando Valley to San Pedro Bay.

Under the measure, the conservancy would have been required to come up with a “Los Angeles River restoration, redevelopment and transit plan” by 1995. Downstream cities had the option of participating in the plan.

The conservancy would have had seven voting members with a 29-member advisory board charged with devising a plan to establish businesses, housing and recreational facilities in a corridor along the river. Torres had hoped the project would mean thousands of jobs in low-income areas that were hard hit in the April-May riots.

The bill did not call initially for public funds, but for the conservancy to raise $3 million from private sources and later rely on state bond funds.

The centerpiece of the proposal was a futuristic, 300-mile-per-hour railway from Griffith Park to Long Beach. The railway was conceived by Christopher M. Harriman, chairman of the Los Angeles River Transit Committee. Similar plans have been rejected by the Los Angeles County Transportation Commission and an earlier version of the Harriman plan had been informally dismissed earlier this year by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works.

Torres said he was “deeply disappointed” by the governor’s rejection of his bill, maintaining that it would not have mandated mass transit along the river or affected flood control plans.

“For some, the river plan represented too much, too soon. But in order to truly revitalize our city, we must be bold and ambitious in our vision,” Torres said in a statement. “We must not be afraid to pursue projects which challenge conventional thinking.”

The bill sped through the Legislature after being introduced on Aug. 17, even after a dozen downstream cities mounted a last-minute campaign against it. They were unable to win over the Legislature, but persuaded the governor after a meeting with Administration officials.

Long Beach Mayor Ernie Kell, one of those who came to Sacramento to lobby against the measure, said it would have a “devastating economic impact” on the southern part of the county.

Jerry Caton, city manager of Downey, said the conservancy would probably have imperiled a long-sought, $400-million upgrading of federal flood controls. The Army Corps of Engineers began building the concrete flood controls in 1938, after serious flooding.

Caton said that despite seeking flood control improvements for several years, he had been unaware of the Torres proposal, especially the railway idea, until recently.

Harriman, who was pushing the train proposal, declined to comment on the governor’s veto.

The co-chairman of his group is Prince Charles-Antoine de Ligne, an American-educated Belgian nobleman who lives in his family’s medieval castle. In May, de Ligne set up a Los Angeles-based company known as Larex Inc., whose sole business purpose is to profit from the development opportunities along the river, according to state records.

On Aug. 17, the day the bill was introduced, the company filed a statement of officers. Jeff A. Harrison, an attorney at the firm of Karns & Karabian, is registered with the state as the company’s agent. He did not return calls Monday.

Harriman has previously said that his committee is also represented by the firm, whose partners include former Assemblyman Walter Karabian.

Torres said that Larex would have been just one of many companies that could have applied for projects along the river. He said that he steered the group to Karabian but that the former lawmaker had nothing to do with conceiving the conservancy.