Sierra Club Angeles Chapter - BALLONA TIMELINE: History of Engagement, Protection and Restoration of Ballona Wetlands Beginning in 1988 to present
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SIERRA CLUB BALLONA TIME LINE:
Marina Del Rey
"The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it."
Robert Swan, Polar Explorer and Inspirational Speaker
BALLONA WATERSHED FLY-OVER IS A BIRD'S EYE VIEW OF A NEW VISION FOR LOS ANGELES(link is external)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=5EOiBNlfbfQ 10 minutes
Marina del Rey Small Boat Harbor and Recreation Area was chiseled out of 950 acres of Ballona Wetlands located in Venice, California in 1954 by U.S. Congress Public Laws 389 and 780. Law 780 requires reasonable rates with equal access for all.
Activist Action: PROPOSED BOAT CENTRAL Request Hearing US Army Corps of Engineers about Boat Central in Marina Del Rey Dec2015.pdf will be 8 stories high, project 92 feet into Boat Basin H, and eliminate free existing parking lot used by bicyclists, fishfisherman, whale watchers, hikers, runners and boaters. Polluted water flowing from Basin H under Fiji Way into the Ballona Wetlands will further compromise the wetlands.Activist Action: WETLAND MEADOW PARCEL 9U on Via Marina. Send a comment via USPS letter to: Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, 320 W. 4th Street, Suite 200, Los Angeles, CA 90013, Attn. 401 Certification Unit. Proposed project would reduce wetland size, bring polluted salt water into a fresh water site, create two hotels and an apartment building, in a rare place for herons and other birds.
Important items to consider:
1. Public Hearings on Fiji Way's Basin H Free Public Parking Lot 52, Parcel FF, Parcel 9U, Pier 44 and Fisherman's Village offer a rare opportunity to publicly define current recreational needs of Los Angeles County.
2. Public Hearings on the 2016 Local Coastal Plan Amendment offer a once in five years opportunity to identify the Environmental Impacts of pollutants from proposed expansion so close to the Ballona Wetlands.
3. Los Angeles County spent 2 million dollars of taxpayer money lobbying the California Coastal Commission to Amend the last Local Coastal Plan to change the ESHA (Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area) designation that protected mature trees, Monarch Butterflies and Heron Rookeries. We need to correct this at the Coastal Commission this year.
4. The Ballona Watershed flood plain covers large areas of the Marina. Sea level rise, a tsunami, or a huge storm event could flood the lower Ballona Watershed creating wide-spread property damage, road closures and loss of life. Tsunami warnings are posted in the Marina.
5. Ownership of these 950 acres of Marina del Rey Land has been contentious. Hotels, condos, apartments, stores, boat slips and yacht clubs are all on long-term land leases of 50-60 years. The County continues to eliminate parking lots / park set asides for development.
6. Some have expired, some have been renewed, and others are in contention.6. Opposition to Proposed Development Projects has grown among residents, recreational boaters, bicyclists, bird watchers, fisherman, walkers, runners and environmentalist.
7. Millions of dollars in public funds were spent to acquire land, dredge the channel, widen our beach 450 feet for 5.5 miles, create a small craft harbor, provide fishing, swimming, recreation and wildlife opportunities for the people of LA. Funding was provided U.S. Congress U.S. Congress, Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County in almost equal parts.
8. U.S. Congress Documents 389 and 780 defined Oxford Lagoon Bird Sanctuary as 41.9 acres. Only 10.7 acres were actually set aside.
9. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Channel and the 12 small craft harbor basins. Funding for continual maintenance of the Channel is appropriated by U.S. Congress.
10. Water sustains all life, without it all living things perish. 90% of all our wetlands in Southern California have been built on or paved over. We have done this at our peril.
11. Over development threatens Via Marina, Fiji Way and Admiralty Way: Wetland Meadow Parcel 9U, Mariners Village old growth trees, cormorants and heron rookery on Via Marina; Dock 52, Parcel FF, and Fisherman's Village on Fiji Way; and, Pier 44 on Admiralty Way.
12. Los Angeles imports around 85% of its water from over 200 miles away. It uses 30% of its state electrical power to deliver this water.
1. Public Hearings on Fiji Way's Basin H Free Public Parking Lot 52, Parcel FF, Parcel 9U, Pier 44 and Fisherman's Village offer a rare opportunity to publicly define current recreational needs of Los Angeles County.
2. Public Hearings on the 2016 Local Coastal Plan Amendment offer a once in five years opportunity to identify the Environmental Impacts of pollutants from proposed expansion so close to the Ballona Wetlands.
3. Los Angeles County spent 2 million dollars of taxpayer money lobbying the California Coastal Commission to Amend the last Local Coastal Plan to change the ESHA (Environmentally Sensitive Habitat Area) designation that protected mature trees, Monarch Butterflies and Heron Rookeries. We need to correct this at the Coastal Commission this year.
4. The Ballona Watershed flood plain covers large areas of the Marina. Sea level rise, a tsunami, or a huge storm event could flood the lower Ballona Watershed creating wide-spread property damage, road closures and loss of life. Tsunami warnings are posted in the Marina.
5. Ownership of these 950 acres of Marina del Rey Land has been contentious. Hotels, condos, apartments, stores, boat slips and yacht clubs are all on long-term land leases of 50-60 years. The County continues to eliminate parking lots / park set asides for development.
6. Some have expired, some have been renewed, and others are in contention.6. Opposition to Proposed Development Projects has grown among residents, recreational boaters, bicyclists, bird watchers, fisherman, walkers, runners and environmentalist.
7. Millions of dollars in public funds were spent to acquire land, dredge the channel, widen our beach 450 feet for 5.5 miles, create a small craft harbor, provide fishing, swimming, recreation and wildlife opportunities for the people of LA. Funding was provided U.S. Congress U.S. Congress, Los Angeles City and Los Angeles County in almost equal parts.
8. U.S. Congress Documents 389 and 780 defined Oxford Lagoon Bird Sanctuary as 41.9 acres. Only 10.7 acres were actually set aside.
9. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Channel and the 12 small craft harbor basins. Funding for continual maintenance of the Channel is appropriated by U.S. Congress.
10. Water sustains all life, without it all living things perish. 90% of all our wetlands in Southern California have been built on or paved over. We have done this at our peril.
11. Over development threatens Via Marina, Fiji Way and Admiralty Way: Wetland Meadow Parcel 9U, Mariners Village old growth trees, cormorants and heron rookery on Via Marina; Dock 52, Parcel FF, and Fisherman's Village on Fiji Way; and, Pier 44 on Admiralty Way.
12. Los Angeles imports around 85% of its water from over 200 miles away. It uses 30% of its state electrical power to deliver this water.
Marina Del Rey Related Material
CREATE A PARK & HABITAT AREA - Parcel 44 Admiralty Way. OPPOSE Over-Development.
This area should be reserved for public recreational facilities, not commercial development.
Pier 44 is part of the Marina Del Rey Over-Development. In the last 60 years, public recreation and the initial 6000 boat slips have shrunk in favor of commercial businesses, hotels, condos, and apartments on leased land Los Angeles County asserts it owns. With each new lease, more recreational area and parking set aside for either parks or parking lots have disappeared.
YouTube & Vimeo Video Library and Links
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PREPARING FOR RESTORATION BALLONA WETLANDS ECOLOGICAL RESERVE
Youtube Video Library and Links
HELP SAVE OUR PLANET: Share our YouTubes with friends, family and agencies.
June 10, 2019 California Coastal Commission (CCC) San Diego - Public Comments
Marina del Rey, CA: Why and How MDR Was Created with 1954 U.S. Docs 389 and 780 / Documents and Excerpts
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U.S. House Documents 389 and 780 have great relevance to the
Ballona Wetlands Restoration and Marina del Rey - see page 47 of Doc. 389 for a Map.
MDR was created with the combined efforts of U.S. Congress, Los Angeles County & Los Angeles City.
Limberlost in Geneva, Indiana - Originally 13,000 acres of Wetlands - Now 1800 Restored Acres - 200 species of Birds
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Invitation to Limberlost - A Musical Performed in Hermosa Beach in April 23, 2019
Selections from a musical production by Helen Slayton-Hughes and Dana Lewis Powell based on Gene Stratton-Porter's 1909 novel Girl of the Limberlost and on the wetlands restoration project at the Limberlost Swamp in Indiana. St.Cross Episcopal Church, Hermosa Beach, CA
Stop drying out Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve! Stop Playa Vista's confiscation and throw away of Ballona's freshwater resources.
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STOP ALLOWING THE ON-GOING DESTRUCTION OF BALLONA WETLANDS
1990 Friends of Ballona Wetlands and CCC Signed Settlement Agreement
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In 1990, this Settlement Agreement occurred (197 pages - 14 meg).
Courtesy of Tattn.
COASTAL COMMISSION MEETING - BALLONA WETLANDS RESTORATION HISTORY by Patricia McPherson, GC - MAY 8, 2019 - OXNARD - POWER POINT
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COASTAL COMMISSION MEETING - BALLONA WETLANDS RESTORATION HISTORY by Patricia McPherson, GC - MAY 8, 2019 - OXNARD - POWER POINT
Download the 43 megabyte PDF Presentation: California Coastal Commission Meeting - May 8, 2019 - Ballona Wetlands Restoration History Presentation
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