Preserve Reservoir Site

What to do with Chatsworth Reservoir remains unanswered. Last week, a City Council debate over whether to preserve or develop the dry reservoir in the northwest San Fernando Valley was postponed for the third time after the primary proponent for using some of the land as sports facilities and homes failed to show. Rick Caruso, president of the Department of Water and Power Commission, called in sick--but his secretary told a reporter he was feeling fine. City Councilman Hal Bernson called Caruso’s nonappearance a “stonewalling tactic.”

So what’s going on?

Caruso and some council members have been at odds since last year over how best to use the reservoir’s 1,300 acres, which were designated in 1997 as a wildlife refuge. The City Council last year directed Caruso to lease the land to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. But with $4 billion in debt, some within the Department of Water and Power--which owns the land--are keen to sell at least part of the land off to private developers.

Given the land’s natural beauty and the Valley’s general paucity of easily accessible open space, it seems reasonable to preserve the reservoir site as a refuge for the Canada geese, bobcats and badgers who find shelter among one of the region’s few remaining Valley oak savannas. The conservancy would be a logical steward for the land.

But there are very real pressures. The Valley will need more homes as population increases over the next decade. Already, the lack of sports fields citywide has sparked a lawsuit alleging unequal access for boys and girls. Caruso was granted time last fall to prepare a report examining alternative uses for the reservoir. The council--and the public--has yet to see that report.

In its absence, The Times continues to support the preservation of Chatsworth Reservoir as an open space where hikers can enjoy a rare piece of the Valley’s natural heritage. When Caruso finally presents his report to the City Council, it will have to make a convincing case to justify the destruction of land that deserves protection.