Lakes at Hansen Dam Viewed as Key to Area’s Revitalization

For years, flood waters coursing down the Tujunga Wash poured silt into the lake at Hansen Dam.

By 1982, because nobody bothered to dredge the sediment that flowed into the flood plain, the large and popular Holiday Lake had dwindled to nothing but muck. It was closed, leaving only memories of a place where families from throughout Los Angeles had once spent weekends swimming, boating and relaxing.

Without the lake, the area was neglected by most everyone except gang members and transients.

Now, after years of delays and rising costs, steamrollers finally are revving up to build two new Hansen Dam recreational lakes above the flood plain.

Construction of the 10.5-acre lakes area, now two large holes in the ground, is expected by many to spark an awakening the area has not seen for years.

Local leaders view the largely underutilized area as vital to long-term economic development in the northeast San Fernando Valley. The revitalized park could draw increased business, housing and jobs to hundreds of acres surrounding the more than 1,400-acre Hansen Dam Recreation Area.

“It’s all about potential,” said Lillian Burkenheim, a project manager for the Community Redevelopment Agency of Los Angeles. “It will help spur economic development.”

Councilman Richard Alarcon, who represents the area, is preparing a plan that would spin business opportunities from the activity the lakes and other projects are expected to bring. Movie theaters and a professional sports complex are on the wish list.

The expectations are high, considering the many nagging problems that have plagued the lakes project.

Some residents worry that cost overruns and cutbacks will leave them with a project that falls far short of an initial plan loaded with amenities. Proposed water slides and fishing platforms, for example, are gone for now.

“The lakes, they sure have a long history,” said Phyllis Hines, land-use chairwoman for the Lake View Terrace Improvement Assn., a homeowners group. “We’re hopeful, but cautious.”

The new lakes, which may be ready for use by spring 1999, come long after Holiday Lake closed 15 years ago.

That 120-acre lake opened as a city-run recreation area in 1949. There was a boat ramp, and swimming was allowed in a shallow section.

But the lake was in a flood plain that absorbed silt swept down the wash by rain, shrinking it more and more each year. In addition, it was expensive to maintain.

After the lake was closed, the surrounding park lost much of the popularity it enjoyed during the 1950s.

Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills), who made restoration of the lake a campaign promise during his run for Congress, sponsored legislation in the ‘80s that expanded the role of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which owns the land, from flood control to include recreation projects.

By the early 1990s, city and federal efforts, spurred by Berman, were at last underway to create a new 15-acre lake as part of a development plan for the entire Hansen Dam basin.

Along the way, city and federal workers realized that such a large swim area would be extremely difficult to keep clean and that it would cost a bundle.

Time and effort went into designing a 13-acre boating and fishing lake and a 2-acre swim lake. That too looked as if it would be difficult to manage and expensive to maintain.

By 1994, plans were for a 9-acre boating and fishing lake and a 1.5-acre swimming lake. The Corps of Engineers and the city of Los Angeles agreed to split the $10-million cost.

After excavation finally began in early 1996, more problems arose. Workers miscalculated the availability of dirt needed for embankments, and an endangered bird nested along the site for a while, forcing more delays.

The lengthy process, including redesigns and red tape that at times irked residents, eventually resulted in a funding shortage, causing yet another delay.

Last April, $4.6 million raised through Measure A, a countywide bond issue for parks, and money from the city was set aside for the project. The total price tag jumped to more than $14 million.

Six more months went by before the Corps of Engineers signed a $7.6-million contract in October with Southwest Engineering of Santa Monica to build the lakes.

“This is an extremely important milestone,” Berman said then. “It takes us one step closer to the day when Valley residents can swim, fish, picnic and relax at Hansen Dam.”

Construction of the lakes is expected to begin around the start of the new year.

The lakes will be in the northwest section of the Hansen Dam area, off Foothill Boulevard east of Osborne Street. Off a ways to the north are the mountains of the Angeles National Forest.

Nearby is the site where Rodney G. King was beaten by Los Angeles police officers during his arrest in Lake View Terrace in March 1991.

When the work is complete, as many as 4,000 people at a time are expected to crowd into the lakes.

The seasonal swimming lake, which will contain filtered, chlorinated water, will be no deeper than 5 feet. The boating and fishing lake, which is not designed for power boats, will be up to about 13 feet deep.

“I know the community wants to see these lakes,” said Gary A. Bond, director of the Hansen Dam Sport Center and Lake View Terrace Recreation Center. “It’s going to be beautiful once it gets done.”

Bond said the lakes will be a strong addition to the existing equestrian trails, sporting events and other occasional activities held on the land.

Alarcon said the area should thrive in the coming years. It is included in a proposed federal empowerment zone for Los Angeles that would provide tax credits for hiring local residents and business incentives for capital investments.

Other projects in the works include Lake View Terrace’s first public library and an environmental learning center. There are hundreds more acres of undeveloped land in the area that are zoned for industrial and commercial use.

By working with city agencies and the Department of Water and Power, which owns about 135 acres adjacent to Hansen Dam, Alarcon hopes to help develop a greater future for the area.

“It would demonstrate the value of the northeast Valley,” Alarcon said. “Creating this type of vision is what this community has needed for a long time.”