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Burbank City Council approved SB35 application 910 South Mariposa (2) at Public Hearing November 26th 2024
THE FIGHT IS NOT OVER!
Safe equestrian access to Griffith Park via the Mariposa Bridge is being threatened.
The historic Mariposa Bridge crosses the LA River between Burbank and Griffith Park. It provides the only access, on the north side of Griffith Park, for hikers and the hundreds of horses stabled in Burbank, Glendale, and the Los Angeles Equestrian Center, to connect to 55 miles of trails in the Park’s urban wilderness.
Horseback riders using the Bridge represent a significant diversity of riding skills and communities of Southern California neighborhoods. People of all ages often take their first ride on a rental horse across the Mariposa Bridge into Griffith Park.
Since 1939, this 7-foot-wide suspension bridge has provided safe and continual passage across the deep concrete channel of the LA River into Griffith Park.
Now there are plans to build a multi-story condo development within feet of this historic bridge! While original plans called for a 3-story development, new plans have been submitted for a 5-story development.
The construction site would be right next to the dirt trails and local streets that horses and their riders must travel in order to reach the Bridge.
You do not need to be an expert to realize that a construction site right next to a well-travelled horse trail is a recipe for disaster, especially for novice horseback riders..
The threat of this development is not just for the equestrians seeking safe access to the open space of Griffith Park. It also threatens the environment by endangering the local animal habitats.
The construction site for this development is within a Habitat Corridor which encompasses the banks of the LA River, the northern rim of Griffith Park, and the surrounding neighborhoods. This Habitat Corridor provides essential habitat connections and nesting sites for migratory birds. It is an area that contains habitats for sensitive species.
The construction site is on the north side of the LA River, between Pollywog Park and Bette Davis Park - both of which are part of Griffith Park. It is an area undergoing ecosystem restoration as part of an 11-mile habitat corridor restoration project known as the Los Angeles River Ecosystem Restoration Project (LARER). Within these parks, LARER seeks to restore the habitat and wildlife connectivity that was diminished by the channelization of the LA River in 1939.
In our world of diminishing biodiversity and expanding endangered species, this planned multi-story cono development, within feet of the LA River, threatens the existing habitat, and blocks efforts to restore the LA River ecosystem that once was.
Proposed project 5-story condos: