Return of Hansen Lake Puts Horsey Area on Comeback Trail

LAKE VIEW TERRACE — Every weekday morning, Phyllis Hines takes an hourlong walk in her scenic neighborhood, past crowing roosters, grazing horses and wild vegetation.

This working-class community of about 20,000 residents--better known for the 1991 Rodney King beating than its world-class equestrian center--is quietly undergoing an image transformation that has longtime residents like Hines thrilled.

The passage of time is partly responsible for the change, and so is the development of the 1,463-acre Hansen Dam Recreation Area, which is once again emerging as a destination for families throughout the San Fernando Valley.

Later this month, two new lakes--one for swimming, the other for boating and fishing--and a water slide will open at the site, at a cost of $15.8 million.

“It marks the official turnaround,” said Rep. Howard L. Berman (D-Mission Hills), who worked for more than 15 years to open the lakes. “It was a blighted park in disrepair, a breeding ground for drug deals.”

Not anymore.

In the past month, both the Galaxy professional soccer team and a private company presented proposals to the city in hopes of building state-of-the-art soccer facilities at the Hansen Dam Recreation Area.

One plan calls for a $60-million development that would include a stadium, training center for the men’s and women’s national soccer teams and 12 public fields. The other, presented just last week, would feature a $10-million training center and 10,000-seat stadium.

And last month, in what would be the most ambitious project of its kind in city history, Los Angeles park officials proposed a $25-million renovation of the area that would make it a major sports and recreation facility for the region.

‘All the Stars Are in Alignment’

In a city short on soccer fields and open spaces, Lake View Terrace, with its rolling hills and rural atmosphere, is becoming an increasingly attractive location for people seeking both.

“All the stars are in alignment for that property,” said Steven Soboroff, president of the Los Angeles Recreation and Parks Commission. “I can’t tell you how we’re going to get there, but we’re going to get the facility developed into something not seen in this country. It’s going to have national significance.”

Lake View Terrace covers about four square miles and is known as horse country. Many homes have stables, and several ranches and equestrian centers dot the landscape. There’s even a condominium complex equipped with stables to house its residents’ horses.

Equestrian Center a Popular Attraction

The 50-acre Hansen Dam Equestrian Center, with stalls and corrals for 200 horses, 16 riding arenas, a grand prix turf course and a rodeo stadium, is one of the area’s most popular attractions.

Last month, San Fernando Valley Fair officials agreed to hold the annual four-day event at the site.

“It’s a great idea,” said Hines, a 24-year board member of the Lake View Terrace Improvement Assn., a homeowners group of about 400. “We’re pretty happy about it. It’s going to be great.”

In the 1950s, the area was among the premier recreation destinations in the Valley, but it fell on hard times in the early ‘80s as its only lake filled with silt from Big Tujunga Wash. It was closed in 1982, and gangs, drug dealers and transients moved in.

The wider community also experienced some hard knocks. Besides the infamous beating by Los Angeles police officers, there was an ongoing dispute over the Lopez Canyon Landfill, which residents fought the city for years to close. They finally won the battle when the dump closed in 1996.

In a stunning move last year, the L.A. City Council approved a golf course in one of the last undeveloped stretches of Big Tujunga Wash.

Hines and many of her longtime neighbors would not trade Lake View Terrace for any other spot in Los Angeles.

“I’m retired now, so I can move anywhere, but I really love it here,” Hines said. “This is an ideal and very stable community. People are permanent here.”