On the recommendation of our advocacy committee, NCSA representatives voted in December 2022 to sign this resolution, already signed by many organizations.

Some background:

Melanie Winter of The River Project (and representative to the NCSA from the Studio City NC) presented a vision for the Sepulveda Basin to the advocacy committee that is aligned with the approach addressed in the letter. While there were some specific suggestions from committee members, they supported the overall vision. (You can see notes from the November 6 meeting here.)

You might recall the Sepulveda Basin being discussed in the leaked recording of Nury Martinez, Gil Cedillo, Kevin de León, and Ron Herrera.
For some related articles, see
www.dailynews.com/2021/11/05/la-city-council-panel-swaps-out-advisory-commissions-map-with-its-own-hybrid-version/
knock-la.com/nury-martinez-la28-olympics-sepulveda-basin-rams/.

See a motion to address some concerns about Martinez's backroom deals introduced by Councilmember Koretz here. 

After our advocacy committee vote, the Board of Public Works voted to support a contract for work on the Sepulveda Basin. See a letter from the San Fernando Valley Climate Reality Project to Councilmember Raman's office here expressing concerns about that contract.

The San Fernando Valley Climate Reality Project and The River Project worked with Councilmember Raman's office to draft a motion directing the Bureau of Engineering (BOE) to re-scope the contract as necessary to ensure that it is aligned with the goals expressed in the resolution.

UPDATE:
In February 2023, the advocacy committee recommends that the NCSA support the motion (in Council File 23-0105, here), which was introduced January 31 and must go through three committees before coming to the full council. (See the advocacy committee's February 5 notes here.) In the meantime, BOE is moving forward with the original scope of work. (Learn more at lacity.org/sepulveda-basin-vision-plan.)

A key element that differentiates BOE’s current approach from The River Project’s is that geomorphic restoration does not appear to serve as the foundation for ecosystem and landscape restoration. Geomorphic restoration is the process of designing and building landforms that replicate the morphology and fluvial (river-related) dynamics of natural landforms in places that have been degraded by human development.

At the state level, Senator Stern has introduced legislation to bring resources to support the goals of the resolution we supported in December to the planning process for the basin.

Updated February 7, 2023