Signal Tribune Newspaper

BY NICK DIAMANTIDES
Staff Writer

Imagine 32 acres of open space on a hill that provides vistas of the Los Angeles Basin all the way to the San Gabriel Mountains. Imagine that same piece of land occupied by plant life common to the area 500 years ago. Imagine intermittent wetlands carved out in that same chunk of land, and imagine wildlife that once roamed free throughout this region thriving in a microcosm of what Southern California once was.
A few years from now, if local officials have their way, you won’t have to imagine any of those things because they will exist at the North Slope Nature Park in Signal Hill. The proposed mini-ecosystem would occupy one of the last remaining parcels of undeveloped land in this area. Last week, after undertaking a three-month study, a group of Cal Poly Pomona graduate students presented their North Slope Vision Plan to the Signal Hill Parks Commission.
City officials have had their eyes on the 32 acres on the north flank of the hill for several years. The property is owned by Signal Hill Petroleum (SHP), which has operated oil wells there for many decades. Currently, the land is zoned for residential development, but SHP officials have indicated a willingness to sell the land to the city. During the past two years, city and SHP officials have talked about the possible sale. The problem, during a time of shrinking city revenues, is that the raw land with all entitlements to build is estimated to be worth about $25 million.
“If the city ever does make the decision to acquire it, we would seek grant monies to help with the purchase price,” said Kathy Sorensen, the city’s director of community services. “One of the agencies we would hope to get grant money from is the Rivers and Mountains Conservancy.” That state agency, Sorensen explained, provides funding for parkland acquisition and wetland restoration by giving grants to local governments in a huge swath of Southern California.
To help the city decide whether to purchase the land for park use or allow it to be developed as a residential project, last April the Signal Hill City Council approved a $35,512 contract with Cal Poly Pomona Foundation, a nonprofit auxiliary organization of the same-named university. Under the agreement, graduate students- working under the auspices of the foundation- undertook an extensive study of the site, which included its history, native flora and fauna, present use, pollutants found in the soil, and possible opportunities for future development.
During the park commission meeting, the four graduate students spent about two and a half hours detailing the results of their three-month study and outlining a vision plan that could transform the 32 acres into one of the region’s premier nature parks.
“The plan is needed to identify open space, reclamation, restoration and conservation opportunities in the area,” Sorensen said. She noted that the graduate students who formulated the plan are enrolled in “606 Studio,” which is a yearlong in-depth landscape design course offered at Cal Poly Pomona. “606 Studio is a very well respected landscape architecture school,” she said. “We were very fortunate to have them undertake this study for us.”
The graduate students, Tony Ignacio, Russell Wightman, Tarrigon Vandenburg and Erin Lybeck, explained the historical and scientific data contained in their report and used slides and a video to show what the 32-acre site looks like now and what it might look like as a nature park.
The students’ vision for the park includes intermittent wetlands planted with native riparian vegetation and inhabited by Western Pond Turtles, Coast Range Newts and other aquatic species. Plants like Fleshly Lupine, Red Clover, Hairy Vetch and Oatgrass would bioremediate the soil converting leftover oil production pollutants into plant material and soil nutrients.
Coastal sage scrub and other native, drought-tolerant vegetation would provide shelter for a wide range of animals. Opossums and raccoons could find refuge in the park and other wildlife species including Coopers Hawks, Yellow Breasted Chats, Behr’s Metal Mark Butterflies, Longuin’s Admiral Butterflies would establish colonies there.
The park would include as much as 15,000 linear feet of pedestrian and bike trails, animal viewing platforms, and a community center with a live grass-covered roof. The park would be used to educate the public on how civilization can live in harmony with the biosphere and would also provide opportunities for people to just relax and enjoy the quiet wonders of nature.
Sorensen thanked the students for their work, noting that their report provides the next generation’s view of what direction society should take in terms of the way human beings relate to nature. “This is still being massaged over the course of the next couple of months,” she said. “Then we’ll actually end up with a hard-bound copy of their formal report. This is a student project that shows us what possibilities exist for that particular site.”
Planning Commission Chair Louise Cunningham thanked the students for their hard work. “We look forward to the final report,” she added.