Welcome to our new section of Toluca Lake Magazine! With a series of great accomplishments under our belts and more on the way, we want to keep all our neighbors aware of our mission to enhance Toluca Lake’s public spaces and help our community thrive. In each issue, we’ll bring you updates on current projects, events and ways you can get involved in making our neighborhood even more safe, sustainable and beautiful. Thank you for your support!
Our Story
Timeline
- 2010 Community Design Overlay (CDO) process initiated to define the character of the Toluca Lake Village, defining the massing and composition of Riverside Drive
- 2012 Parking study conducted to determine needs and capacity of Riverside Drive
- 2012 Phase 1 of the streetscape planning effort begins
- 2014 Phase 2 of the streetscape planning effort with the community begins
- 2016 L.A. Planning Commission adopts Riverside Drive CDO
- 2018 Southeast Community Plan update for Toluca Lake begins
- 2020 Phase 3 of streetscape planning begins
Like most communities in Los Angeles, Toluca Lake systematically found itself reacting to development projects and their related “community beautification” overtures — yet, without a clear and unified community vision, a loose patchwork of disparate styles has been implemented in Toluca Lake.
Through the diligent efforts of the four major entities in Toluca Lake — the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council (GTLNC), Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce, Toluca Lake Homeowners Association and Toluca Lake Garden Club — our community began a 10-year inclusive process to ultimately define the Toluca Lake Village district identity.
Additionally, recognizing that the City’s discretionary General Fund dollars are highly competitive and are primarily (if not exclusively) focused on areas of great need in Los Angeles, the four community groups decided to create a new nonprofit entity — a representation of all the major stakeholder groups in Toluca Lake — to advance public-realm beautification projects.
Toluca Lake Beautification Partners (TLPB) was founded in 2015 out of a desire to implement beautification and streetscape improvements in the Toluca Lake community, rather than relying upon (hoping for) discretionary City funds to do so. This nonprofit entity can now pursue grants (state, regional, agency, city), offer tax-deductible incentives for donors and sponsors, and hire contractors to implement projects in the public realm.
At the same time, NBCUniversal was concluding its “Evolution Plan EIR” process, and through its myriad outreach efforts it provided beautification funds to several surrounding community organizations. NBCUniversal’s grant provided the seed capital to launch Toluca Lake Beautification Partners. A list of beautification projects was approved unanimously by the TLBP Board and was included in the grant agreement with NBCUniversal. Most of those projects have been implemented in Toluca Lake to date.
OUR MISSION The mission of Toluca Lake Beautification Partners is to support a thriving residential and business community by enhancing the public realm to promote a livable, walkable, safe and healthy environment through sustainable design.
Our Progress So Far
Since the inception of TLBP, the organization has worked on several projects to enhance the public realm, public safety, environmental sustainability and economic development — including implementing a school garden at Toluca Lake Elementary School, sidewalk repairs along Riverside Drive, enhancements to the Riverside median, landscaping of the 134 Freeway on-/off-ramps at Cahuenga Boulevard and an upcoming district clock and streetscape planning on Riverside Drive.
Completed Projects
Riverside Median Beautification
Scope: Landscaping the Riverside Drive median, including 12 new trees, LED lighting and native ground cover
Partners: TLBP, TL Chamber of Commerce, Council District 4, Office of Community Beautification, Street Services
Toluca Lake Elementary School Garden
Scope: Repurposing a large asphalt area in the main playground to accommodate 12 new raised garden beds, seven new trees, additional planting areas, seating and space for programming of the LAUSD Ranger Program
Partners: TLBP, LAUSD, GTLNC, Enrich LA, Council District 4
134 On-/Off-Ramps at Cahuenga Boulevard
Scope: Clearing 1 acre of site area, installing all new landscaping and irrigation of all three on-/off-ramps at Cahuenga Boulevard; program includes two years of site landscape maintenance and trash removal
Partners: TLBP, GTLNC, Caltrans, California Assembly 46th District, Council District 4
TLBP Accomplishments
- Planted over 250 large plants, 10 trees and over 1 acre of ground cover
- Constructed 12 raised vegetable beds at Toluca Lake Elementary School
- Installed over 1,500 feet of irrigation lines on the 134 Freeway at Cahuenga
- Replaced/installed 12 LED landscape lights on the Riverside median
- Resurfaced over 650 square feet of concrete sidewalks on Riverside Drive
- Ongoing beautification efforts (e.g., on-ramp maintenance, trash service on Riverside Drive, tree maintenance, sidewalk repairs)
Upcoming Projects
Toluca Lake District Clock
Scope: Enhancement to public parkway by installing a community identifying marker — a “district clock,” — along with bench seating in an effort to create a community gathering place
Partners: TLBP, TL Chamber of Commerce, Council District 4, A.&D. Design, Office of Community Beautification, Chase Bank
Riverside Drive Streetscape Planning, Phase 3 — Sancola to Clybourn
Scope: Phase 3 of streetscape planning on Riverside Drive will focus on design elements, with input from the community, resulting in a defined scope and budget — making it eligible for regional, local and state grants
Partners: TLBP, GTLNC, Council District 4, Placeworks, L.A. City Planning, Bureau of Street Services, Department of Transportation, Public Works
Toluca Lake Beautification Partners, in partnership with the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council, are working on the third round of streetscape planning efforts on Riverside Drive — a process that began in 2014 and again in 2016, which will establish a community-led vision for the “Toluca Lake Village” (the area bounded by Sancola and Clybourn).
What is streetscape?
Streetscape includes all the elements within the public right of way and sidewalks: trees, benches, trash receptacles, pedestrian lighting, landscaping, bulb-outs, medians, wayfinding, crosswalks, gateway markers, etc. Over 65 elements make up district streetscape and define a place.
What does a streetscape do?
A cohesive streetscape enhances the public realm, creates a more vibrant local merchant economy, enhances elements of public safety and encourages environmental sustainability. Examples of successful community streetscape plans include Old Town Pasadena, Larchmont Village and Third Street Promenade — all of which have a distinct identity, welcoming environment, safe surroundings and unified palette.
Why is this important?
The Toluca Lake community will define its vision for streetscape enhancements, so that as new projects are built in our community, or as the City invests in public-realm improvements, a plan will have been designed, vetted and approved by the community — which will also fast-track the process. Grants can only be awarded to cities and nonprofit organizations, and only to projects that have established budgets. At the conclusion of this Phase 3 streetscape effort, Toluca Lake will have both a defined plan and a project budget for all six blocks of the Village. Toluca Lake Beautification Partners offers our community the vehicle to raise funds and implement the project.
In 2020, Toluca Lake Beautification Partners and the GTLNC will once again engage the community and its myriad stakeholders in a final exercise to develop the design concept for Riverside Drive, identify the streetscape elements for the district and prepare a budget estimate for all six blocks of the village.
For more information about us and updates on our projects, visit TLBeautificationPartners.org.
Community Involvement
A series of community meetings will begin in the coming months, announced through our local partner organizations: GTLNC, Chamber, HOA, Garden Club and CD4. Prior to those meetings, an online Streetscape Survey is now available for the community to begin offering their feedback and to understand exactly what is being discussed and why. Please participate in the Streetscape Survey today at TolucaLakeStreetscape.com!
Meet the Board
The TLBP Board is composed of leaders from each of the four main community organizations — the Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council, Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce, Toluca Lake Homeowners Association and Toluca Lake Garden Club. Additionally, TLBP has partnerships with governmental agencies and departments, corporate sponsors and community groups, among others.
Past president, GTLNC
Past Board member, GTLNC
Planning Committee member, GTLNC
President, Chamber
Board member, GTLNC
Past president, Garden Club
President, Garden Club
Executive Board member, HOA
Treasurer-elect and past president, Garden Club
Past president, Chamber
Chair/founder, Chamber Riverside Dr. Median Project
Board member, GTLNC
Past president, Chamber
Past president, GTLNC
Past president, Chamber
Past president, HOA
Past Executive Board member, HOA
Past president, Chamber
President, HOA
Member, Garden Club
Partners
California State Assembly, 46th District
Caltrans
Community Partners
Council District 4
Greater Toluca Lake Neighborhood Council
NBCUniversal
Toluca Lake Chamber of Commerce
Toluca Lake Garden Club
Toluca Lake Homeowners Association
Toluca Lake Magazine
TYS Creative