LA County Department of Regional Planning

Improve the interface between the river corridor and adjacent communities.

A 51-mile corridor of connected public open space, arts, and culture along the LA River can only be an asset if it has strong personal and physical connections with adjacent communities. Both personal and physical connections with the river provide…

Incentivize stronger resident equity building tools and tenant protection policies along the river.

While many river adjacent communities operate affordable housing programs, few communities have strong tenant protections. When low-income families are evicted, they often have no other options and it is common for people to experience homelessness. Tenant protection policies seek to…

Increase units of affordable housing within one mile of the river.

The most effective way to mitigate adverse effects on housing affordability is to increase the supply of affordable housing or preserve existing affordable housing. Investing in more housing units with restricted rents near the river can help ensure that river adjacent…

Utilize the County’s Affordable Housing Coordinating Committee to review and advise on housing and community stabilization strategies along the river.

Ensuring that river improvements strengthen communities without contributing to housing affordability challenges requires a complex balancing act and the best strategies are likely to change. Ongoing input from impacted communities will help guide the evolution of this strategy over time.

Integrate artists, cultural organizations, and community members in planning processes and project development along the river.

The most effective way to integrate more local arts and culture into the LA River corridor is to have meaningful, ongoing engagement with those who are already deeply embedded in the arts and culture communities. Their voices help create and shape…

Identify and activate cultural assets along the LA River corridor.

A community’s cultural assets contribute to its creativity, traditions, robustness, and vitality and can act as both resources and opportunities. Cultural assets can be material, ephemeral, and even spiritual. They include buildings, sites, and objects holding local and national cultural significance;…

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Encourage cities along the river to adopt sustainability strategies.

Adopting sustainability strategies that encourage the use of best practices in the construction, maintenance, and operation of public projects can decrease a city’s environmental footprint, reduce long-term costs, and improve the relationships between buildings and their surrounding environments. In addition to…

Repurpose single-use spaces, such as power-line easements, rail rights-of-way, or flood infrastructure, to serve multiple functions such as multi-use trails or habitat, and prioritize spaces that are in high and very high park need areas.

With little vacant land and relatively high property values and construction costs, LA County cannot afford to have spaces that serve only a single purpose. Multiple uses of space are necessary to ensure benefits outweigh costs.

Encourage compatibility of the river and adjacent land uses.

The appeal of the LA River corridor can be undercut by adjacent uses that are off-putting due to safety, smell, pollution, or noise. Large blocks of incompatible adjacent uses could act as or be perceived to be a barrier to access…

Implement consistent floodplain management practices across the region.

Floodplain management is fundamental to reducing losses from floods. Adopting regionally consistent floodplain management practices, such as managing development in the floodplain, will help to reduce potential catastrophic flood damage and improve community resilience to flooding.