LA County Board

21.\nCreating a New Park Typology for Urban Natureways in Los Angeles\nCounty\nRecommendation as submitted by Supervisor Horvath: Instruct the Director of\nParks and Recreation, in coordination with the Directors of Regional Planning,\nPublic Works, and Economic Opportunity, the Chief Sustainability Officer and\nother relevant agencies, to do the following:\nAmend the General Plan to establish a new Urban Natureways parkland\nclassification within the Parks and Recreation Element that defines these\nspaces as corridor-based parks of regional significance focused on\necological restoration, biodiversity, climate resilience, connectivity to\nnearby parks and key community destinations, and equitable access to\nopen space; recognizes their role in advancing regional ecological\nlinkages and inclusive economic opportunity; and aligns with the goals\nand implementation framework of the Parks Needs Assessment and Park\nNeeds Assessment Plus, as well as guidelines outlined by the Department\nof Public Works in documents, such as the LA River Master Plan and\nSan Gabriel Valley Greenway Network Strategic Implementation Plan.\nAdopt the Compton Creek, Emerald Necklace, Lower LA River and\nPacoima Wash as part of the County’s Regional Trail Network in the\nGeneral Plan and update associated figures as appropriate.\nDesignate the Director of Parks and Recreation as the County lead, in\ncoordination with the Director of Public Works and others as necessary,\nto streamline the planning, permitting, implementation, and maintenance\nof Urban Natureways.\nInstruct the Director of Public Works to create a streamlined permitting process\nthat includes a list of pre-approved improvements for Urban Natureways.\nInstruct the Director of Economic Opportunity, in coordination with the Director\nof Parks and Recreation and other relevant agencies, to explore the creation of\na Countywide Urban Natureway Marketplace initiative to advance place based\neconomic and workforce development along Urban Natureways, including\nmarketplace opportunities for small businesses and vendors within Urban\nNatureways and job creation and career pathway opportunities associated with\nUrban Natureway development and maintenance, while also assessing\nopportunities to generate resources for long-term maintenance, operations, and\ncommunity stewardship.\nEstablish an interagency working group including County departments, Metro,\nlocal jurisdictions, and community-based organizations to advance Urban\nNatureways by strengthening connectivity to existing trails and bikeways, and\nby collaboratively planning, designing, and stewarding projects through inclusive\npartnerships, including with Conservation Corps, workforce development\nprograms, and local stakeholders while also exploring long-term,\ncommunity-centered models for stewardship, governance, programming, and\nmaintenance, and coordinating with housing agencies to assess and mitigate\npotential displacement pressures.\nInstruct the Director of Parks and Recreation to convene a briefing within 90\ndays with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the San Gabriel and\nLower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy, and the Baldwin Hills\nand Urban Watersheds Conservancy on the Urban Natureways initiative and\nengage them as possible funders.\nReport back to the Board in writing within 180 days with a comprehensive status\nupdate on implementation progress, including completed General Plan\namendments, preliminary recommendations, interagency coordination efforts,\nand proposed next steps for piloting the Los Angeles County Urban Natureway\nMarketplace and accelerating the development of Urban Natureways.\nDirect the Chief Executive Officer, through the Legislative Affairs and\nIntergovernmental Relation Branch, in coordination with relevant Department\nHeads, to develop a Countywide legislative strategy to identify and advocate for\nState and Federal funding for Urban Natureways, including targeted\nengagement efforts, such as site tours, briefings, and meetings with State and\nFederal delegation members to build support and demonstrate impact, and\nreport back to the Board in writing in 180 days with a status update on the\nprogress of these initiatives. (25-5069)\nMotion by Supervisor Horvath\nMotion by Supervisor Horvath (Updates Following Cluster)