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Alas,
F.O.L.A.R. is not the only agent of change concerning the river. The Army
Corps of Engineers has its own agenda. In the L.A.C.D.A. (Los Angeles Country
Drainage Area) plan, the Corps has raised the levees along the lower part
of the river in order to increase the riverŐs capacity. Unlike F.O.L.A.R.'s
plans for the Taylor and Chinatown Yards property, L.A.C.D.A. has no benefit
to the environmental or recreational possibilities that the river holds.
Currently, many parts of the L.A. River do not meet the 100 year flood control
requirements set forth by F.E.M.A. (Federal Emergency Management Agency).
Without the L.A.C.D.A. plan, F.E.M.A. had threatened to impose restrictions
on new building construction and require the purchase of costly flood insurance
whenever property is sold within the boundaries of the 100 year flood plain.
This of course is antithetical to the pro-development forces within the
county. Ultimately those forces prevailed, and the levees were built. Although
a defeat for environmentalists, they have recently made progress in realizing
park space up and down the river, particularly at Taylor and Chinatown Yards. |
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