Calabasas creek restoration nears completion
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

BEFORE AND AFTER- In the photo above taken earlier this year, the heavy concrete banks that lined Malibu Creek near Agoura Road in Calabasas showed signs of age and had begun to cause maintenance problems. Below, the concrete has since been removed and a new, meandering creek is allowed to run its course. Until the plants along the banks take root, the restoration is in danger of being upended by heavy rains, but officials are confident that in the long run, the project will pay off.

Calabasas' Las Virgenes Creek Restoration Project got a helping hand from a county politician, taking in a donation that will help push the project into its final stages.

Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky's office contributed $140,000 to help fund the creek project. It should be wrapped up by the end of January, officials said.

Phase I, which consists of removing concrete and naturalizing the channel, is 95 percent complete, according to Alex Farassati, the city's environmental services manager. Phase II, which includes building a walkway, fence and gazebo and installing park amenities and educational panels, began last week.

Farassati said the second phase could not have started without Yaroslavsky's donation.

"The county's contribution to this project is another indication that the city of Calabasas and the county supervisor's office share many common values, especially when it comes to the protection of the environment," said Robert Yalda, Calabasas' public works director. "The project has numerous regional benefits, and all stakeholders are eager to make it a successful project that can become a model for the region."

In 1977, more than 440 linear feet of Las Virgenes Creek between the 101 Freeway and Agoura Road Bridge was lined with concrete, which has degraded and polluted the natural habitat.

At this point, the concrete has been demolished and removed. A retaining wall is up, and all earthwork and restoration is completed. Workers continue to plant and irrigate native vegetation to facilitate its return to a natural state.

The total cost of the project is $1.25 million. The city received $515,000 from the state water resource control board, $326,850 from the California Coastal Conservancy and $187,250 from the Department of Water Resources. After Yaroslavsky's donation of $140,000, the city of Calabasas kicked in $80,000.

According to Farassati, the project will require 3,000 cubic yards of earthwork. About 1,500 tons of concrete and other materials were removed.

The Malibu Creek Watershed provides habitats for several species, including steelhead trout, the southwestern pond turtle, arroyo toad, Pacific tree frog, American goldfinches, song sparrows, coyotes and mountain lions.

"The primary goal of the project is to restore the natural function of this concrete-lined section of Las Virgenes Creek," Farassati said. "This will be accomplished by reestablishing the existing flood control facility in an environmentally harmonious and sensitive fashion.

"A secondary goal," he said, "is to provide an opportunity for the community and for visitors to the area to view a naturally functioning stream and to sensitize them to the importance of habitat restoration."

Benefits of the project include wildlife protection, creek water enhancement, more footpaths and trails, public outreach and education, and restoration of the water channel's overall harmony with the environment.

"As a component of the larger vision to restore channelized creek segments in the Malibu Creek Watershed, this project is an important step in helping to revitalize Las Virgenes Creek before it connects to Malibu Creek and flows to the sea," Yaroslavsky said.

A dedication ceremony is planned for February.