Workshop Seeks Input on Use of Las Virgenes Creek

Residents are invited to a community workshop Saturday to offer input on ways to protect and use Las Virgenes Creek.

Their ideas will be used to develop a Las Virgenes Creek Watershed Management Plan, and the workshop will include a walk along a portion of the creek, said Heather Merenda, the city’s storm-water program manager.

“It’s so we have a good feel of public opinion before we go before the City Council members and planning commissioners,” Merenda said. “It’s so important people get involved and that we give them what they want.”

Residents will also be asked to provide input at upcoming City Council and Planning Commission meetings, Merenda said.

In January, the City Council approved a study that will investigate how development is affecting the creek’s watercourse. The $29,000 study will be performed by graduate landscape architecture students from Cal Poly Pomona and should be completed by mid-June.

“We want to see if we can get the public to fall in love with the creek and see it as more than a drainage ditch,” Merenda said. “We’re looking for a plan for restoring the habitat.”

Las Virgenes Creek is a shallow watercourse that roughly parallels Las Virgenes Road and flows into the larger Malibu Creek watershed. Walking along the creek, Merenda has noticed trash.

“A lot of things are draining into our creek,” Merenda said. “We can’t always know where they’re coming from.”

Refreshments will be served at the workshop, which runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Juan Bautista De Anza Park meeting room, 3701 Lost Hills Road. For reservations, call Merenda at (818) 878-4242, Ext. 293.