Proceedings and speaker presentations from the Forum will be available soon. Check back for updates!

** CONFIRMED *INVITED

Topic Summaries

Panel 1:
Open Space, Stormwater & Groundwater:
Toward a Regional Open Space Plan
Open space can play a critical role in the capture, treatment, and recharge of stormwater runoff, improving surface water quality and augmenting water supplies. To introduce this topic, Hector Bordas, Deputy Director of the Los Angeles County Flood Control District will summarize the concepts for stormwater recharge developed for the Integrated Regional Water Management Plan of Greater Los Angeles County.

Key Issues: To what extent can we use open space to cleanse stormwater? Can stormwater volumes and velocities be reduced enough to reclaim the River’s hydrologic functionality? How should the open space be distributed? How much can stormwater realistically contribute to the region’s water supply needs? Is stormwater treatment compatible with the need for equitable access to open space and recreation? Can habitat and recreational uses be balanced? Is a regional open space plan needed?

Panel 2:
Planning Beyond the River Corridor:
Tributaries, Watersheds, and Communities
The river master plans developed to date focus on the corridor along the river. How to extend this planning along the tributaries and the adjacent communities, and integrate these concepts into General Plans? To introduce this topic, Gail Goldberg, Director of Planning for the City of Los Angeles will describe the City’s plans to create a River Improvement Overlay zone and update Community Plans to reflect the LA River Revitalization Master Plan.

Key Issues: How does the City of LA's plan relate to adjacent cities? How should corridor plans and watershed plans relate or integrate? How can community or specific plans (based on jurisdictional boundaries) reflect watershed boundaries and habitat communities? Do we need to fill in the gaps in subwatershed plans?

Panel 3:
The Lower 20: Toward a Unified Plan?
With the completion of the City of LA's Revitalization Master Plan, there is momentum building to coalesce multiple plans and concepts into a unified plan for the Lower 20 miles of the River. To introduce this topic, Belinda Faustinos, Executive Officer of the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy will provide an overview of existing plans and prospects for an integrated plan.

Key Issues: How to plan for the twenty miles of river corridor and watersheds downstream from the Los Angeles River Revitalization Master Plan. How can we build upon what has been done to date? What can be learned from the City’s Revitalization Master Plan effort? If a single plan is the right course, how can we fund, structure, and manage this effort?

Panel 4:
Dividing the Pie? Funding and Governance
At a time when major new funding is becoming available, can we work together, or will competition for funding and multiple governance structures divide the pie and dilute our efforts? To introduce this topic, Corey Brown, Attorney, Resources Law Group will talk about upcoming funding opportunities.

Key Issues: As agencies, municipalities and NGOs work to position themselves for Proposition 84 and other funding, are we retreating into the old single-purpose mentality just when we most need to work together? What can we learn from the IRP, IRWMP and Proposition O processes? What role can ecosystem restoration funding from the Army Corps play? How does the management structure of the IRWMP relate to the proposed management structure of the LARRMP?