News of the Arroyo

Title:	Arroyo Seco Master Plan hits snag
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Date:	2003-04-15
Summary:	April 15, 2003 -- After a four hour debate on the future of the Arroyo Seco, the Pasadena City Council voted to certify the Master Environmental Impact Report approved by staff, but balked at the Master, instructing staff to return with an edited or red-lined version to clarify exactly what is contained in the plan elements.
Author:	Gary Scott, Staff Writer
Publication:	Pasadena Star News
Content:	Pasadena City Council asks for changes to clarify document PASADENA -- The City Council decided Monday to delay any action on the Arroyo Seco Master Plan until it can be further clarified. In a 4-2 vote, the council asked that the changes made to the plan as it evolved over the last few years projects being added, deleted or modified be compiled in one document that clearly outlines what is and is not being contemplated for the 1,000-acre park. \"The problem is you are asking us to give approval of a thing we haven\'t seen,\' said Mayor Bill Bogaard. He said last week he could not approve the master plan as written. Bogaard and Councilman Sid Tyler voted against the motion, although both agreed the plan needed clarification. Councilman Victor Gordo was absent. To make a point about how the wording of city documents matters, Councilman Steve Madison said an exotic animal ordinance once brought before the council was found to have outlawed the Rose Parade. The council did certify the Arroyo Seco Master Plan\'s environmental impact report, in part to capture a $1 million state grant to help clean and restore a portion of streambed in the Central Arroyo. The grant has been pending for years, but state officials recently told the city it has until April 30 to approve an EIR for the master plan or lose the money. \"We are facing deadlines now,\' said City Manager Cynthia Kurtz. A \"red-line\' version of the plan will be brought back to the City Council in the coming weeks. The Arroyo Seco Master Plan covers a series of projects, from construction of facilities to restoration of native habitat, in the three geographic areas that make up the Arroyo Seco: the Lower Arroyo, Central Arroyo and Hahamongna Watershed. It is more than six years in the making and has gone through three major drafts, most recently in response to public comment related to the EIR. With its mix of trails, bridges, ponds and riparian habitat, the 150-acre Lower Arroyo would see the least construction under the plan. Madison, whose district includes the area, recommended eliminating the planned reconstruction of the Pasadena Roving Archers\' clubhouse, which was destroyed by arson, and instead make its property an open space. The Central Arroyo is the most developed area, home to the Rose Bowl and Brookside Golf Course, covered with grass fields and paved roads. The 550- acre area runs from the Colorado Street Bridge northward to Ventura (134) Freeway. Here, the city wants to restore stone walls and an amphitheater on the northern hillsides, expand playground areas near North Arroyo Boulevard, build pedestrian pathways and restore the streambed where feasible. That the city did not study a possible National Football League project for the Rose Bowl has riled groups like the Arroyo Seco Foundation and Coalition for the Protection of the Arroyo Seco. They say professional football\'s effect on the arroyo would be so significant that it is irresponsible not to consider them in conjunction with other projects. City officials say an NFL deal is too speculative to warrant a study at this time. The 300-acre Hahamongna Watershed Park borders the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and has areas contaminated with perchlorate, a toxin associated with spent rocket fuel. It also contains some of the most sensitive habitat in the arroyo and is vital to the city\'s water supply through natural percolation of runoff from the mountains and man-made spreading grounds. -- Gary Scott can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4458, or by e-mail at gary.scott@sgvn.com.
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