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Overview of the 
Silver Lake Reservoir Master Plan

This Master Plan outlined the needs and interests of both the Department of Water and Power (DWP) and the community. The head of the DWP at that time, S. David Freeman, agreed that planning for the future would be a good idea. Community meetings explored various options and came to a consensus on how both the community and DWP would benefit.

  1. The first workshop was held on March 27, 1999. The goal was to introduce the concept of a Master Plan and give the community a chance to express their concerns and desires. Over 2000 invitations were sent out. The mailing list was compile from neighborhood organizations and the results of a title search for addresses near the reservoir. Also, flyers were posted in local businesses and banners hung up on the reservoir fence and at Ivanhoe Elementary School. Approximately 150 people attended the workshop.
  2. The second workshop was held on May 20th. The goal was to present some ideas that came from the first workshop and get more suggestions and ideas. In an effort reach as many people as possible, over 20,000 invitations were sent out. The address list was compiled from DWP billing records. As before, flyers were also distributed and banners were hung up. Approximately 240 people attended this workshop.
  3. A third workshop was held on July 24th. The goal was to clarify some of the findings in the first two workshops. Over 150 people attended the third Silver Lake Master Plan workshop at John Marshall High School on Saturday, July 24th. The Master Plan team setup large display boards with photographs and drawings highlighting various ideas and proposals that were developed from the first workshop and, based on input from the second workshop, refined for presentation in the third workshop. Since many participants in the second workshop said they did not have time to adequately review the proposals before the presentation or were confused by some of the ideas and concepts being presented, the third workshop was structured so that attendees would be able to view the proposals and concepts between 8:30 and 10:30 AM before the formal presentation.

    By the time Mia Lehrer and her team started the formal presentation at 10:30, many of the participants had taken advantage of the opportunity to discuss the various proposals and ideas with members of the Master Plan team, SLRA and CSSLR Board members, and their neighbors. This was a great chance to have an in-depth discussion about the Master Plan.

  4. A final meeting was originally planned for November, 1999, where the Master Plan team was going to present the Master Plan the community the community.  That meeting was rescheduled to March, 2000 to give the project team more time to organize the community input, consult with city officials and to insure that elected officials would be at the final meeting.  The LADWP Board of Commissioners approved the Master Plan in December, 2000.
  1. After the final meeting, an effort to secure funding from the State of California was initiated.  In June, 2000,  members of the community were asked to write letters of support for this effort.  Then Assemblyman Scott Wildman started the effort, and it was picked up by newly elected Assemblyman Dario Frommer.  Through his efforts, along with the efforts of the SLRA, CSSLR, the LADWP,  Council Members  Tom LaBonge and Eric Garcetti, 2.3 million dollars was secured for the project in December, 2001.  (See Press Release).  
  1. Distribution of those funds were delayed due to budget constraints, but in October, 2002, we were notified that the first portion of those funds are available.  Phase 1 is to create a meandering path through the Eucalyptus Grove on the west side of the reservoir.