Expansion Plans Revealed for Park Near Balboa Lake

Plans for the $1.9-million, 40-acre expansion of Anthony C. Beilenson Park near Balboa Lake will include a vast grove of native trees, footbridges over nearby Bull Creek, and a grass-covered parking lot, federal officials said Thursday.

The announcement was made by Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks), who is in the final days of a highly charged reelection campaign.

“Anyone who has been to Anthony Beilenson Park on a weekend, even if there is not a festival or special event, knows that the Valley could use another 40 acres of parkland right here,” Sherman said.

The park expansion should be completed within a year, and was made possible when Congress set aside funding in 1997. The Army Corps of Engineers and the Los Angeles city Department of Recreation and Parks will complete the environmental review of the project and then complete the final design plan. The city is required to provide 50% of the cost.

When finished, the park addition will have walkways, platforms overlooking Bull Creek and a new restroom, said Lt. Col. Charles Landry of the Army Corps of Engineers. An anonymous donor also will supply cherry trees to be planted on the park’s slopes along Balboa Boulevard and Victory Boulevard.

Currently the area is a dusty, dirt lot.

Glenn Bailey of the Coalition to Save the Sepulveda Basin criticized plans to add parking spaces in the park, saying the land should be dedicated to parkland exclusively.

Sherman, however, said the land used for parking will be for special events only.

The area also will be covered with special turf, which is tough enough to handle traffic on limited occasions.