Governor Signs Bill to Open Access to L.A. River

A new state law should make it easier for the public to access sections of the Los Angeles River.

SB 1201, signed Wednesday by Governor Brown, will require the Los Angeles County Flood Control District to give access to navigable sections of the river "suitable for educational and recreational purposes."

That's as long as flood control isn't affected.

It will be up to the Los Angeles Flood Control District to figure out exactly how to implement the law.

According to Karin Flores of The Friends of the Los Angeles River, the law goes into affect Jan.1, though it does not provide an exact timeline for district compliance.

Two private operators received permits this summer to conduct tours along an approximately 2-mile stretch of the river controlled by the Army Corps of Engineers.

The trips are limited to daylight hours and small, heavily-supervised groups.

The access imagined by SB 1201 would be more extensive. 

The law has strong implications for the natural-bottomed Glendale Narrows running through Los Feliz, Silver Lake, the Elysian Valley and Atwater Village.

The stretch is one of three along the 51-mile river particularly suited for educational and recreational access.

It has been the focus of a lot of recent attention by lawmakers and others hoping to restore and develop along its shores.

SB 1201 was sponsored by State Senator Kevin DeLeon, who recently moved his field office to Echo Park.

It was co-authored by Friends of the Los Angeles River and the UCLA Center for Environmental Law.

Read more about SB 1201 here.