Sepulveda Basin Vision Plan

The Sepulveda Basin was created by the Army Corps of Engineers in the early 1940s as a flood management reservoir following the construction of the Sepulveda Dam. Today, it serves as a wildlife habitat and an important open space in the San Fernando Valley.

A scenic aerial view of a winding river alongside a green golf course with mountains in the background.

Map showing the outline of Oregon with land and water areas.

Led by the Bureau of Engineering, the Sepulveda Basin Vision Plan was commissioned by the City of Los Angeles to transform the Sepulveda Basin into a climate-resilient park that balances recreational, natural, and cultural spaces. Commenced in December 2022 with input of thousands of community members, this is the first comprehensive plan for the Basin produced by the city.

In addition to detailed information about the area, the Vision Plan outlines 47 specific projects, including Project 16, proposed by FALA’s Lake Balboa Park Project and described as follows:

The new restaurant, education center, and gardens will be designed to front the civic promenade and complement the surrounding improvements made by the Sepulveda Vision Plan.

The environmental education center will provide indoor and outdoor classrooms that will be designed to be a part of the LAUSD Environmental Sciences and Sustainability curriculum.

The restaurant will provide a space for the Tongva, Tataviam, and Chumash tribes to showcase traditional indigenous recipes and model sustainable ways of living using produce grown in the gardens integrated with support from executive chef Sean Sherman’s North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems. A formal kitchen garden will provide opportunities for school groups to learn about sustainable gardening and nutrition, while a foraging garden will provide opportunities to learn about Indigenous methods of gathering food, native habitats, and pollinators.

Subsequent to the launch of the Vision Plan in June 2024, FALA’s development and funding responsibilities have been increased to include additional projects in the NW corner of Lake Balboa Park, namely Project 17 (resilience & community centers), part of Project 18 (civic promenade) and Project 22 (restoration of Bull Creek).

The plan has received multiple awards honoring the team which produced it, including Project Director, Mark Hanna, and Design Lead, Jessica Henson: the 2025 Excellence in Urban Design Award from the APA Los Angeles Chapter, the 2024 Merit Award for Urban Design from the American Institute of Architects California Chapter and an Honor Award for Analysis and Planning from the World Landscape Architecture and the American Society of Landscape Architects.