Los Angeles A Discussion Fall 2009 Streams? What streams? In - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Stream for the city of Los Angeles

Fall 2009

Protection

A Discussion

Streams? What streams?

In Council District 2 La Tuna Canyon

Photo: Jessica Hall

In Council District 3 Bell Creek

Photo: Jessica Hall

In Council District 3 Dayton Creek at Orcutt Ranch

Photo: Jessica Hall

In Council District 4 in Hollywood Hills in Los Feliz

Photos: Jessica Hall

From the UCLA Geography Fairchild Air Photography Collection

In Council District 5

Flight #H-73 11/29/1929

Stone Creek

Photo: Jessica Hall

In Council District 5 Hoag Canyon

Photos: G. Haines GoogleEarth

In Council District 11 In Brentwood, near Wilshire

Photo: Jessica Hall

In Council District 11 Bundy Creek

Photo: Natural Channel Design

In Council District 12 Brown’s Canyon

Photo: Natural Channel Design

Photo: Natural Channel Design

In Council District 12 Limekiln Creek

Photo: Natural Channel Design

In Council District 14 in Lincoln Heights

Photos: Jessica Hall

In Council District 15 At Peck Park, San Pedro

Photo: Natural Channel Design

In Council District 15 The Bixby Slough/Wilmington Drain

Photo: Jessica Hall

In Council District 1 Arroyo de las Pasas gone

From the UCLA Geography Fairchild Air Photography Collection

In Council District 1 Arroyo de las Pasas gone

From the UCLA Geography Fairchild Air Photography Collection

In Council District 9 Compton Creek gone

From the Los Angeles Public Library

From the Los Angeles Public Library

In Council District 10 Ballona Creek gone

In Council District 10 Arroyo La Brea gone

“Forty-five acres of ground, now a waste…will be reclaimed for use - when this slough...is filled in. The live stream

• f this creek now flows through the

Sacatela No. 3 storm drain, leaving no excuse for the gullies and ravine which now exist.”

• Los Angeles Times, 1930

Courtesy Eco-Village

From the Los Angeles Public Library

In Council District 13 Sacatela Creek gone

Throughout LA City The norm

Dry Wash Intermittent Perennial Wetlands Early 20th Century Streams 94 miles 312 miles 148 miles 9 sq. miles

Historic Streams in Los Angeles area Over 90% loss of streams & wetlands

Map: Jessica Hall

replenish beaches soil fertility building materials water quality flood protection drinking water recreation property values microclimate carbon sequestration biodiversity & habitat economic welfare Benefits Stream functions groundwater recharge sediment transport flood storage stormwater conveyance habitat

Image: Jessica Hall

Natural streams work for us - for free!

Types of Streams

Photo: Jessica Hall Photo: Jessica Hall

Usually look dry Only have water during rainy season Important for water quality, recharge & habitat

Ephemeral Streams Intermittent & Perennial Streams

Usually wet or moist Runs year round or part of year Most people’s idea of a stream Caballero Creek, CD 3 Caballero Creek, CD 3

HIGH TERRACE: Rarely flooded CHANNEL: Carries low flows; bedload sediment GEOMORPHIC FLOODPLAIN: Commonly flooded LOW TERRACE: Infrequently flooded

Streams have one or more channels, a floodplain and terraces.

Slide data from Stream Assessment & Restoration Design Workshop, by Tom Moody, PE, Natural Channel Design, Inc.

Parts of a stream

Photo: Natural Channel Design

Aliso Creek, CD 12

Natural Streams Protect Water Quality Streamside plants and

• rganisms remove and

break down pollutants like nitrogen and total suspended solids.

Photo: Jessica Hall

Wonderland Creek, CD 5

Natural streams support biodiversity LA lost its salmonids with channelization of LA and San Gabriel Rivers. West Coast commercial salmon fishery at point of collapse. Maintaining local fisheries maintains food security. And biodiversity supports you and me.

Photo: Jessica Hall

Photos courtesy Wendy Sue Rosen

Loss of streams = loss of habitat

Mandeville Canyon, CD 11

Helianthus nuttallii parishii Los Angeles Sunflower

http://www.geocities.com/royvandeho ek/losangelessunflower.htm

Potentilla multijuga Ballona Cinquefoil

Loss of streams = extinctions

Courtesy Pasadena Museum of History

Arroyo Seco 1885

streams are human habitat

streams are human habitat

Photo: Jessica Hall

Floodplain After Filling Slide from: No Adverse Impact, Association of State Floodplain Managers

Protected floodplains protects property

Slide from: No Adverse Impact, Association of State Floodplain Managers

Protected floodplains reduce liability

Slide from: No Adverse Impact, Association of State Floodplain Managers as measured by:

• increased flood peaks & flood stage
• flood velocity
• erosion and sedimentation

The City of Los Angeles is also obligated to prevent increases in flood peaks and stream velocities under its MS-4 Permit.

Protecting floodplains reduce liability

Stream Buffer Benefits: Provide Economic Value

• Minimizes Flood Mitigation
• Increases Property Values

– $10,000 or more in Virginia (Tippett et al., 1999) – Values of Homes Increase as far as 3 Blocks from the Stream (Vince Graham, ION Development) – Property Values 32% Higher for Locations Adjacent to a Greenbelt Buffer in Boulder, Colorado (Correll et al. 1978).

• Increases Tourism

Slide content from: Stream Setbacks and Buffers: Adding Value to Your Community through Stormwater and Natural Resource Conservation, for the Johnson County Stormwater Management Program & Mid-America Regional Council, By: Black & Veatch, Inc., Tetra Tech EMI, and Patti Banks Associates.

Protecting streams enhances property values

$150,000 $175,000 $195,000 $195,000

Slide content from: Stream Setbacks and Buffers: Adding Value to Your Community through Stormwater and Natural Resource Conservation, for the Johnson County Stormwater Management Program & Mid-America Regional Council, By: Black & Veatch, Inc., Tetra Tech EMI, and Patti Banks Associates.

Protecting streams enhances property values

Managing streams

Not all streams are mapped accurately

Photos: Guangyu Wang

Arroyo del Jardin de los Flores, CD 4

CEQA and the Clean Water Act require mitigation not protection for filling a stream.

• 1976. Kenter Creek, CD 11.
• 2004. Kenter Creek, CD 11

Managing streams

State and Federal laws do not stop streams from being destroyed.

Map and Aerial: Microsoft Terraserver

Creek in the Los Angeles River headwaters (CD 12) at risk.

Whoever bought this creek can legally fill it or line it in concrete. Managing streams

State and Federal laws do not stop streams from being destroyed.

Photo: Jessica Hall

Kenter Creek, CD 11

• Construction to

edge of banks

• Grading in

streambed

• Check dams and
• ther construction in

stream channel

• No stream buffer
• Diversion of flows

Erosion Bank instability Poor water quality Sedimentation Habitat loss

• Stream originally

“unmapped”

Managing streams

Local jurisdictions should be the front lines of stream protection. ISSUES

RESULTS

Photo: Jessica Hall

Stone Canyon Creek, CD 5 June 4, 2006

Managing streams

Photos: Jessica Hall

Local jurisdictions should be the front lines of stream protection.

Whoever bought this creek can legally fill it or line it in concrete.

Las Virgenes Creek - $1.5 m

$2,800/linear foot

Dry Canyon Creek - $500k

$900/linear foot Managing streams Protecting streams costs less than restoring them

Stream protection: mapping & city Plan Check

• Adding City streams to

Navigate LA

• Ensuring plan check includes

consultations with: California Department of Fish & Game US Army Corps of Engineers Regional Water Quality Control Board

Atwater Creek, CD 4

Photo: Jessica Hall

• Creating a Stream

Identification Zone

Buffer Architecture

• Three-zone buffer is preferred
• Progressive zones allow more intensive uses
• 100 foot minimum recommended
• Johnson County Model:

– Streamside zone (25 ft.) – Middle zone (50 ft.) – Outer zone (25 ft.) Stream protection: using buffer zones

Slide content from: Stream Setbacks and Buffers: Adding Value to Your Community through Stormwater and Natural Resource Conservation, for the Johnson County Stormwater Management Program & Mid-America Regional Council, By: Black & Veatch, Inc., Tetra Tech EMI, and Patti Banks Associates.

Variations on the Theme

• Shawnee, Kansas:

– Two zone buffer – 25-yr floodplain plus 90 feet – No habitable structures allowed within buffer

• Liberty, Missouri (tentative):

– Either 100 feet top-of-bank or 100-yr floodplain, whichever is greater – Uses within buffer may be limited to recreational trails

Slide content from: Stream Setbacks and Buffers: Adding Value to Your Community through Stormwater and Natural Resource Conservation, for the Johnson County Stormwater Management Program & Mid-America Regional Council, By: Black & Veatch, Inc., Tetra Tech EMI, and Patti Banks Associates.

Stream protection: using buffer zones

California Variations on the Theme

• Berkeley, CA:

– Buffer includes culverted (piped) streams – No structures with roofs allowed within buffer – 30’ setback from stream centerline

• Oakland, CA:

– 2 levels of protected zones: a 20’ and a 100’ setback from top of bank – Creates 4 classes of permit depending on proposed work within each zone. – Permittees must submit a thorough Creek Protection Plan with their building submittals.

• Sonoma County, CA

– 50’ setback of streams in urban and upland areas (proposed to be widened to 100’), – 100’ setback in lowland streams – 200’ along the Russian River.

• Coastal Zone, Coastal Commission, CA

– 100’ setback from edge of riparian canopy

Stream protection: using buffer zones

Stream protection: ordinances

Oakland, California Berkeley, California San Diego County, California Santa Cruz, California Napa, California Austin, Texas La Grande, Oregon Charlotte, North Carolina Mecklenberg, North Carolina Cannon Township, Michigan Peabody, Massachusetts Joliet, Illinois Fairfax County, Virginia Kings County, Washington Washoe County, Nevada

The State of New Jersey has proposed a 300’ Riparian Buffer along “Category 1” streams.

The State of New Jersey

Photo: Jessica Hall

Stream protection: questions and discussion

Photo: Jessica Hall

Los Angeles River, CD 6

• Stream Mapping
• Stream Identification Zone
• Stream Buffers
• Stream Protection Ordinance

Stream Protection Concepts

• Others?