DebsPAB

4235 Monterey Road
Los Angeles, CA 90032

 

LEGISLATIVE, MANAGEMENT & PLANNING BOUNDARIES

Debs Park is unique in the Recreation and Parks System. According to Recreation and Parks Assistant General Manager, Stephen Klippel, Debs Park is a nature park, with a range of outstanding unstructured recreational opportunities for the local community including picnicking, hiking, and wildlife viewing. Its active recreational facilities, such as ball fields, are located in the southern portion of Debs Park, effectively buffering the type of experience visitors can enjoy. No other comparable nature park exists in the area.

LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITIES

The park is part of two Los Angeles City Council Districts: District 1 (CD-1), Councilman Mike Hernandez; and District 14 (CD-14), Councilman Nick Pacheco. CD-1 includes the adjacent communities of Highland Park, Cypress Park, Glassell Park, Mount Washington, Montecito Heights, and Lincoln Heights, as well as communities near downtown, including Pico Union. CD-14 includes the adjacent communities of El Sereno and Monterey Hills and parts of Highland Park, as well as the communities of Eagle Rock, Garvanza, downtown Los Angeles, City Terrace, and Boyle Heights. Each District contains approximately 250,000 residents, making them among the most densely populated areas in Los Angeles.

The legislative districts of Debs Park include the:

• 30th U.S. Congressional District (Xavier Becerra, Dem.);
• 22nd California Senate District (Richard G. Polanco, Dem.);
• 45th California Assembly District (Speaker of the Assembly, Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Dem.); and,
• 1st L.A. County Supervisorial District (Gloria Molina).

PARK MANAGEMENT

The City of Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks, supervised by the Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners, manages and operates Debs Park. The Board of Recreation and Parks Commissioners sets policy, establishes fees, and approves license agreements for concessions. The General Manager, who administers the Department of Recreation and Parks, is responsible directly to the Board of Commissioners.

PLANNING BOUNDARIES

Activities in Debs Park are governed by a variety of land use plans including the:

• Open Space Plan of the Open Space Element of the City of Los Angeles General Plan,

• Public Recreation Plan of the Services Systems Element of the City of Los Angeles General Plan, and

• Northeast District Plan under the Land Use Element of the City of Los Angeles General Plan.

Debs Park is located within several planning areas. These include the General Framework Plan for the City of Los Angeles, with supporting community plans for smaller regional planning areas. Efforts are focused on crucial issues in resource allocation, community services, and collaborations to strengthen the infrastructure and vitality of the City, including East and Northeast Los Angeles.

In addition, the Northeast Los Angeles District Area Plan (the northeast plan), which consists of all the Los Angeles communities surrounding Debs Park, was updated and adopted in June 1999. A citizens committee, the Northeast Community Plan Advisory Committee, was formed to help advise the process. They identified important opportunities to preserve and enhance the character of Northeast Los Angeles while improving the economic and physical condition of the community. Their recommendations covered land use, zoning, the built environment, regulations and infrastructure. The northeast plan helps guide the Los Angeles City Council in making land use decisions, and identifies approximate locations and dimensions for land use activities. In the northeast plan, Debs Park is designated open space.

The draft northeast plan identifies "actions that the City should promote, through appropriate City Departments, other governmental and non-governmental agencies, and private parties, to further the goals of the Northeast Plan." Related actions to the Draft Framework Plan include:

• Conserve, expand, maintain, and better utilize existing recreation and park facilities to address the recreational needs of the community.

• Preserve the existing recreational facilities and park space.

• Increase accessibility to parkland along the Arroyo Seco and potential parkland along the Los Angeles River.

The northeast plan also states that:

"Much of the Northeast Los Angeles District hillside and mountainous terrain, and as much of the remaining undeveloped lands as feasible is to be preserved for open space and recreational uses."

The northeast plan further supports the Framework planning process in the following statement:

"Encourage open space for recreational uses, and to promote the preservation of views, historic sites, natural character and topography of the District for the enjoyment of both local residents and persons throughout the Los Angeles region."

ENTITLEMENT PROCESS

Prior to construction, plans for the Nature Center or any other building in the Park will need to be submitted to the City's Department of Building and Safety for approval to ensure that all project structures conform with the City's building and safety and parking codes. The Building and Safety Department will issue building permits and certificates of occupancy upon approval of the plans and completion of construction.

continue to "SAFETY AND MAINTENANCE"