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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Sun Valley Plan Would Repurpose Land

Gravel pits. Landfills. Wreckage. Over the years, Sun Valley has become a magnet of sorts for waste and that needs to change, say those behind the Sun Valley Renaissance Concept Plan. Presented Oct. 16 during the Livable Communities Council meeting at the Economic Alliance of the San Fernando Valley. The plan, conducted by the American Institute of Architecture in connection with the Economic Alliance, proposes to reindustrialize the community. “It’s not meant as a way to displace the industry,” explained project director and Mulholland Institute head Bob Scott. “We’re just looking at ways to repurpose industrial land.” The major industries in Sun Valley, which sits in the northeastern part of Los Angeles between Bob Hope Airport and the intersection of the Interstate-5 and CA-170 freeways, have included closed landfills, aggregates, recycling, auto salvage, manufacturing and assembly, warehouse and distribution facilities, according to the study. But the businesses that Scott envisions bringing to Sun Valley would differ from those already in place in that their environmental impact would be minimal. If adopted by the city government, Scott is hopeful that campus-style, “high-end, clean,” industries, such as film and television, will be clamoring to come to Sun Valley. “We actually have clusters here,” Scott said. “We have a better chance of attracting these industries.” To draw so-called clean business into the area, Sun Valley must first be cleaned up, the study posits. “Our concept is how can we revitalize this area, utilizing these gravel pits?” architect and project chair Jerry L. Pollack asked. “One is to make lakes. Two is to cover them with grass and make it a park Get out there with some out-of-the-box thinking about what’s possible.” Scott, for one, believes that a Sun Valley free of illegal signage, barbed wire, and corrugated fencing is possible. In its stead would be a community with more than 200 trees, bicycle trails and walkways in proximity to the Los Angeles River, of which Scott said he wants to make use. Such a makeover would be a welcome change for Polly Ward of the Studio City Improvement Association, who made multiple trips to Sun Valley the day before the study was presented. “It’s scary because of the trash, the cars, the wreckage,” Ward said of Sun Valley. New high school The proposed new-and-improved Sun Valley would also feature revamped roads and sidewalks, as well as a technical arts high school, medium density apartments and single family housing. In an effort to encourage the use of mass transit and reduce the amount of pollution in the area, which residents have complained has adversely affected their health, the plan identifies the need to have a balance between the number of jobs in Sun Valley and the number of homes. “If you have some balance, there’s a smaller chance that people will have to move out of the community,” Scott said. In addition to developing housing, the estimated 66 stone structures in the agricultural community of Stonehurst, developed in the area in the 1920s, would be maintained and preserved. This historic corner of Sun Valley could provide revenue through eco-tourism, eco-agriculture and bed-and-breakfast resort-style living, according to the study. A major ecological move Sun Valley made prior to the study’s release is closing its last operating landfill. Now waste is sent to Simi Valley, Antelope Valley and Riverside, according to Douglas Corcoran, director of operations for the Waste Management Los Angeles Market. “What we’re looking to do is increasing recycling sent to composters and farmers for mulch,” Corcoran said. Any material that is not recycled is sent out to remote sites. Because a report with a similar aim called the Panorama City Commercial Area Concept Plan received a positive reception, hopes are high for the Sun Valley Renaissance Concept Plan. “The project we did in Panorama City was adopted and won an award for the American Institute of Architecture, and we hope the same thing happens with this project,” Pollack said. The plan will be presented to the Los Angeles Planning and Building departments, as well as to the community at large. But Scott stressed that he wants the community to understand that the ultimate goal of the plan isn’t to grow Sun Valley. While some growth is necessary, Scott admitted, “Our emphasis is on the quality of life.” And if Sun Valley is better off economically now an estimated 17 percent of residents live in poverty there is no question that quality of life will improve, he asserted. These shifts just hint at what’s possible for this heavily industrialized area, according to Tom Rath, who works for the Los Angeles Planning Department but attended the presentation in an individual capacity. “The potential is there,” he said. “We’re tired of watching potential go down the tubes.” Elements Of Sun Valley Plan 1. Industrial campuses, demonstrating their green components and how they conform to LEED standards or above remembering on-site office space as well. 2. Village commercial themed commercial streets and pedestrian-oriented districts. 3. Architectural treatment and landscape screening of railroad line to block noise and vibrations, but avoiding the creation of a visual canyon. 4. Industrial Arts & Technology Academy a four-campus technical-arts high school four adjacent campuses: trade tech, arts, college prep and traditional; four complementary architectural designs that distinctively reflect the focus of each campus. 5. Enhanced access to the Sun Valley Metrolink Station, including the use of DASH shuttles servicing medium density housing clusters and centers the station could be enhanced as a full-function train station serving both freight and passengers. 6. Flood channel enhancements, trails, parkways and de-channelization tying into such initiatives as the Tujunga Wash Watershed Management Plan and the Sun Valley Watershed Management Plan. 7. Increased support for goods movement and logistics, including exclusive priority and grade-separated heavy trucking roadways to provide access to pit areas and recycling facilities. Source: Sun Valley Renaissance Concept Plan

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