Potrero Canyon — Landscaping (Weeding, Brush Clearance, Irrigation) Updates
LEGEND:
RAP — RECREATION & PARKS DEPT.
BOE — BUREAU OF ENGINEERING
CD11 — OFFICE OF COUNCIL DISTRICT 11/COUNCILWOMAN TRACI PARK
5/18/23: The contractor is continuing to work on setting up the pump station at the mouth of the canyon. When completed, recycled water will be pumped through the riparian zone. Completion is expected this summer. Until then, BOE will need to continue irrigating some canyon areas in or near the riparian zone, in order to preserve plants. This may result in temporary pooling of water on nearby trails, which BOE advises cannot be avoided. The PCOC will monitor and request that Vector Control continues to regularly treat any areas of standing water.
5/18/23: BOE’s landscape contractor is engaging in daily weeding, focusing primarily on the canyon’s basins. This is an ongoing project and will take years before invasive weeds can be fully controlled (estimated five-year project). Meanwhile, weeds such as wild mustard are proliferating and in some cases protruding onto narrow Park trails. Cindy Simon (PPCC Area 6 Representative) has offered to form a group of volunteers to help with the weeding efforts. We have asked CD 11 to secure permission for this group to begin assisting the contractor and we are hopeful that our volunteers will be permitted to begin helping soon. In addition, required brush clearance along the canyon slopes has begun and must be continued by a contractor for RAP (to be hired). We are told that brush clearance is expected to be completed by July 4th. A primary goal of brush clearance is to ensure that native plant species are preserved to the extent possible.
4/11/23: The contractor is working on irrigation testing and fixes and is also weeding and clearing brush on an ongoing basis. We have asked BOE, via project manager Kristen Ly at the recent Community Safety Town Hall, to maintain an ongoing interface with LA County Vector Control and ensure that water which may seem standing is in fact sufficiently moving and not creating an unsafe breeding ground.
3/31/23: See report of 3/7/23 meeting between PCOC members and LAFD staff, including the Brush Clearance Unit, regarding brush clearance, weeding and related landscaping and safety concerns for the Park: Brush Clearance Report.