Silver Lake : Recreation Center Proposals

A dispute over the fate of the antiquated Silver Lake Recreation Center appears a step closer to settlement, thanks to efforts by the local residents group to reach a compromise with the city of Los Angeles.

Members of the Silver Lake Residents Association Advisory Council say they will meet this week to draw up a list of recommendations--based on a survey of 500 people who live in the area--to be presented next week to the city Recreation and Parks Department.

Jan Soo Hoo, who helped conduct the survey, said most of those questioned oppose the city’s plan to replace the center, a 1930s-era building at the southern tip of the Silver Lake Reservoir. It has about 4,000 square feet of space and includes a small gymnasium, an out-of-date kitchen and some storage and office space.

The city wants to build an 11,000-square-foot, windowless hall with a full-size indoor basketball court, a kitchen, offices and meeting rooms to accommodate a “wide variety of recreational activities,” said Frank Catania, planning and development supervisor for the parks department.

The city proposal, announced 18 months ago, provoked community outrage. Many residents feared that the basketball court would attract older children to the tiny park facility, which is on less than one acre of land. The site, with its small-scale playground and sandboxes, presently serves primarily the toddler set.

Activists said the citizens group is expected to recommend either renovating the present facility, or replacing it with a similar-sized structure. It is also expected to recommend building the indoor basketball court at a site near Griffith Park.