Recreational Projects Likely to Be Funded

The Los Angeles City Council gave the first official nod Tuesday to a list of projects that would likely be funded in the next five years by Proposition K money, including more than $31 million for recreation facilities in the San Fernando Valley.

The council unanimously agreed that the projects in the Prop. K five-year allocation plan--a report developed by the L.A. for Kids Steering Committee--were worth funding.

Since voters passed the measure in 1996, representatives from different areas of the city lobbied for new and improved parks in their own communities.

This list, officials said, represents an effort to include communities throughout the city.

“When Proposition K was being crafted, certain parts of the city were clearly more in need,” Councilwoman Laura Chick said.

“But when you look around the city, there is not a community that does not have children and families in need of recreational options.”

The council also allocated $210,000 in the 1997-98 Prop. K assessment to conduct environmental reviews of the projects to facilitate the planning process.

The five-year plan outlines potential funding from the fiscal years 1998-99 to 2002-03; allocations for the 1997-98 projects have already been approved.

The projects included in the 1998-99 plan, which is expected to be reviewed by the council in May, are land acquisition for green space in the areas of Encino, Sherman Oaks and Studio City, as well as land for a new senior center at Mid-Valley Recreation Center and new recreation facilities for Sepulveda Park.

Other projects slated for the Valley in the future include a roller hockey park at the East Valley YMCA Family Branch, a soccer complex and other amenities at Hansen Dam and a modernized Garden Center in the Sepulveda Basin.