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DRAFT ADDENDUM TO THE BUILT FACILITIES CHAPTER
Presented to the Griffith Park Draft Master Plan Working Group 1/8/2007
By Members, Jeff Gardner and Bernadette Soter

CENTRAL SERVICE YARD OPPORTUNITY SITE

The re-discovery of Central Service Yard as dedicated parkland presents an extraordinary opportunity to expand both active and passive recreational enjoyment of Griffith Park without the prohibitively expensive purchase of new parkland and without displacing current users.

Thorough analysis of boundary maps and other records, the Real Estate Division of the Recreation and Parks Department determined in the Fall of 2006 that this approximately 28-acre riverfront parcel of land contiguous to the North Atwater Park section of Griffith Park is and always has been dedicated parkland. The land was once recognized as a part of Griffith Park and used for recreational purposes.

Today, this parcel is not used for recreation and is not accessible to park-goers. It is the site of a permanent building housing Recreational and Parks regional offices, several maintenance sheds and workshops serving the Recreation and Parks Department and other City departments, several portable buildings that function as offices for recreation divisions, a large employee parking lot, fleet vehicle parking and storage areas, and other non-recreational uses.

By eliminating the non-park specific functions currently in Central Service Yard, while at the same time, consolidating its park-specific administrative and maintenance functions into a smaller, more economical footprint, a significant portion of its parkland can be reclaimed to serve both active and passive uses.

On the active side, given that the acreage is flat, surrounded by a residential neighborhood of working families, close to a regularly scheduled bus line and only a short walk from Chevy Chase Recreation Center, it is an excellent site for new sports fields for youth.

On the passive side, since it is contiguous to the Los Angeles River and the Atwater Creek Stream restoration in the North Atwater section of Griffith Park, its reclaimed river-frontage can be converted to a picnic and wildlife viewing area that will complement the pedestrian/equestrian corridor currently along its bank.

All of these uses can be accomplished with sensitive planning that takes into account the needs of all users, including the existing Atwater horsekeeping community and the Recreation and  Parks departmental functions that will remain at the site.