First Visitors Explore Restored Los Angeles Wetland

PLAYA VISTA, California, April 21, 2003 (ENS) - The first phase of a newly restored wetland in west Los Angeles opened to the public on Saturday, offering visitors a look at egrets and herons, as well as the first example of natural storm water planning in Los Angeles County.

Restored by Playa Vista community developers Playa Capital Company, LLC, and the volunteers from Friends of Ballona Wetlands, the new Ballona Freshwater Marsh is the result of a court settlement that ended years of legal wrangling and environmental protests.

Today's cities of Venice, Marina del Rey and parts of West Los Angeles now stand where the Ballona Wetlands once spread across some 2,000 acres. But the development of Marina del Rey, the installation of tide gates preventing salt water from entering the marsh, and the channeling of Ballona Creek, the wetlands' primary water source, reduced the wetlands to about 190 acres.

Great blue herons in the Ballona Wetlands (Photo by Bill Beebe courtesy Friends of Ballona Wetlands)

In 1997, the Playa Capital Company LLC, a conglomerate made up of investment firms Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and others, took over the Playa Vista development project. This company is required to uphold all terms of the lawsuit settlement, including the complete restoration of the Ballona Wetlands.

Ruth Lansford, president of Friends of Ballona Wetlands, is pleased with the wetland restoration. "The freshwater marsh was part of our settlement with Playa Vista years ago," she said. "It is every bit as beautiful as we imagined it would be. They did a terrific job."

The newly restored marsh is located west of Lincoln Boulevard and south of Jefferson Boulevard. It includes open water bordered by native grasses, shrubs and trees typical of a freshwater marsh and riparian ecosystem. The marsh provides wildlife habitat, and also serves as a natural storm water management system to remove contaminants before the water enters Santa Monica Bay.

"Not only is the marsh beautiful to look at, but it's serving a really important function by cleaning storm water before it enters Santa Monica Bay," said Playa Vista president Steve Soboroff. "Today is proof that Playa Vista delivered on its promise to restore wetlands in an area that was degraded."

"This is a terrific new asset for our community," said City Councilmember Cindy Miscikowski. "It is a great place to walk and observe nature, and also to learn about the wetlands. The interpretive panels blend into the landscape and offer detailed descriptions of the history of the land."

Friends of Ballona Wetlands volunteers remove harmful iceplant from the Ballona wetland. (Photo by Samantha Christie courtesy Friends of Ballona Wetlands)

But some conservationists still object to the Playa Vista development. The Malibu based Wetlands Action Network says that Playa Vista would add tons of new air pollution daily, and would pour pollution into Ballona Creek, further contaminating Santa Monica Bay.

Originally planned as 13,000 residences for 29,000 people, Playa Vista scaled back its size and increased the amount of open space last November in response to such objections.

The new plan will result in less than half the number of residential units, a third less office space and nearly 70 percent less retail area as compared to the original master plan. The amount of parks and open space was increased from 50 percent to 70 percent of the 1,087 acres that encompass the Playa Vista development. Now plans include 5,846 residential units, less than half the 13,000 residential units in the original master plan.

Electric vehicles will be the dominant mode of transportation at Playa Vista, reducing the runoff of pollution from the development.

Playa Vista says the restored wetlands will act to filter what contaminants do run off from their development. Wetlands prevent flooding by acting as sponges, capturing large quantities of water and releasing it slowly to the ocean. Wetlands also help cleanse water by trapping and breaking down contaminants.

"Most of the area where this beautiful marsh exists today was nothing more than degraded uplands where Summa Corporation had planned housing and golf courses," said City Councilmember Ruth Galanter. "Now we have beautiful habitat as well as an effective way to cleanse stormwater. I am proud to have been involved with this project from the first day, and it is wonderful to see the final result."

From now on the walkways on the perimeter of the marsh will be open to the public. Docent led tours of the interior of the marsh will be provided periodically. For more information, visit the Friends of Ballona Wetlands at: http://www.ballonafriends.org/index.htm