Los Angeles County: It's Time to Update the Master Plan for the L.A. River

"A 20-year-old plan mapping the future of the LA River is getting an update," reports Elijah Chiland. "The County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to update the LA River Master Plan, called for by the board in 1991 and adopted five years later."

L.A. County Supervisor Sheila Kuehl put out a press release to announce the plan update, coining a clever term in the process:

In order to avoid ‘plan-demonium,’ this motion is designed to ensure that the LA River Master Plan engages all stakeholders and develops a unified vision that reflects the needs of all communities and includes all voices.”

According to the press release, the first step of the master plan update is to establish a steering committee of regional agencies, city leaders, nonprofit and community groups, and other interested stakeholders. The motion also ensures input from County Departments, including representatives from the city of Los Angeles, the LA County Flood Control District and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Stephanie Michaud provides additional coverage of the approval of the planning update. In that article, a telling anecdote from the board of supervisors hearing that produced the decision. According to Michaud, "Kuehl said the river has suffered not from neglect as much as from too much attention, with many organizations working independently to make changes."