L.A. Council Gets Funding to Revitalize Hansen Dam Park

The Los Angeles City Council took the first step Wednesday toward revitalizing Hansen Dam Park--once one of the San Fernando Valley’s most popular swimming and picnicking areas--by accepting $5 million in county funds to build boating and swimming lakes.

The money, which was generated by an initiative approved by voters in 1992, will be combined with federal matching funds to build a nine-acre boating lake and an adjacent 1.5-acre swimming lake designed to be the park’s central attractions.

“These lakes are essential features,” said Councilman Richard Alarcon, whose district includes the 1,400-acre regional park. “This is very important.”

Hansen Dam will receive the biggest chunk of Proposition A funding accepted by the council for 10 recreation projects citywide, including a $1-million public swimming pool at the Sun Valley Recreation Center.

The boating and swimming lakes at Hansen Dam, which are scheduled to open in two years, have been high on the wish list of nearby homeowners since the 130-acre Holiday Lake at the park was closed and drained in 1982. That lake became clogged and polluted by debris and silt that had washed down from nearby canyons.

For more than 25 years, the lake was a thriving recreation center, drawing developers to build homes on hills near the lake and inspiring the name of the nearby community, Lake View Terrace. On weekends, the parking lots were crammed with swimmers, boaters and picnickers.

But ever since the lake closed, residents have complained that the park has become run-down and a haven for gang members and the homeless.

The latest news about the dam encouraged some residents.

“I think it’s great,” said Lew Snow, former president of the Lake View Terrace Homeowners Assn. who has lobbied for the project for years. “The restoration of Hansen Dam is a long time coming.”

Nancy Snider, current president of the group, was slightly less enthusiastic. “It will never be like it once was,” she said. “What we need now is a site where people can enjoy themselves in a safe setting.”

A 1991 master plan for the park called for the construction of a 70-acre lake to replace Holiday Lake. But those plans are on hold indefinitely, mainly because the financially strapped city cannot afford to maintain a lake of that size, Alarcon said.

Construction of the lakes will begin in October, and swimmers and boaters can expect to use them by mid-1996, according to the Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the recreation area and is overseeing the project.

The nine-acre boating and fishing area will be separated from the 1.5-acre swimming lake by a raised service road, said Ed Louie, project engineer for the Corps of Engineers.

The lakes will be built on vacant land at a slightly higher elevation than Holiday Lake so that they do not collect debris and silt from mountain runoff, he said.

A water filtration system will ensure that the lakes’ water always will be safe for swimming, Louie said. “It’s going to be swimming pool standards,” he said. “So, it will be very, very clean.”

Holiday Lake was originally formed when “burrow pits,” holes that were excavated to provide gravel to build the dam, filled up with water. Eventually, the lake grew to about 130 acres and was opened in 1949 to the public.

The city’s parks department built a sandy beach and a boat ramp, designated a shallow section for swimming and stocked the lake with trout. A grassy picnic area with barbecues was created nearby.

Rep. Howard Berman (D-Panorama City), who pressed the federal government for its share of the funding, said he hopes the improvements will restore the park to its former glory. “It’s an eyesore. It’s a breeding ground for drug dealers,” he said. “All this in an area that was a wonderful recreation area 30 years ago.”

The city Recreation and Parks Commission has considered concession ideas at Hansen Dam Park, such as a water slide, but has yet to move on any particular proposal.

But the commission on Wednesday received three consultant proposals to study the feasibility of opening a sports facility on 56 acres in the Sepulveda Basin.

The consultants said they can complete a feasibility study on operating batting cages, baseball diamonds, soccer fields and other money-making sports amenities in six to 17 weeks. The studies would cost between $14,000 and $37,120. The commission instructed parks officials to study the proposals and make a recommendation.