Plan to Revitalize L.A. River OKd by Legislature : Legislation: Bill would set up regional agency to promote economic development, environmental restoration and high-tech transit along the 50-mile, concrete-lined channel.

SACRAMENTO — The state Senate on Monday gave final passage to a bill that supporters say could turn one of Los Angeles’ longest running jokes--the 50-mile concrete flood control channel known as the Los Angeles River--into the heartbeat of the city.

Without debate, the Senate passed 31 to 0 and sent to Gov. Pete Wilson a measure that would set up the Los Angeles River Conservancy as a regional planning agency.

Seen by supporters as a visionary way to provide thousands of construction jobs to riot-ravaged areas, the measure would give the conservancy the dual role of promoting economic development and environmental restoration along the concrete corridor.

If signed into law, the proposal by Sen. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) would be one of the most sweeping economic uplifts to grow out of last spring’s unrest.

Torres said the measure is intended “to give a rebirth to the city of Los Angeles . . . and to prove once and for all that protecting the environment can make money for communities and create jobs.”

The conservancy set up by the bill would establish a board of seven voting members and an advisory board of 29 members charged with developing a plan to create businesses, housing and recreational facilities along a corridor paralleling the channel.

It would also direct the proposed conservancy, the state Department of Transportation and a little-known private nonprofit group, the Los Angeles River Transit Committee, to determine the viability of a high-tech elevated transit system from Griffith Park to Long Beach.

The measure, introduced Aug. 17, sped through the Legislature without much opposition. However, late last week, 11 downstream cities, including Long Beach and Downey, began to mobilize against it, contending that the conservancy could take away local planning authority and might jeopardize existing and proposed flood-control projects.

After heavy flooding in the 1930s, much of the 50-mile-long river, which runs from the San Fernando Valley to San Pedro Bay, was paved to protect the cities from flooding.

In recent years, several politicians have viewed the channel as an untapped resource. Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Panorama City) has suggested turning the channel into a roadway to relieve traffic congestion. Katz voted for the measure when it was approved late Saturday by the Assembly, and has said the Torres plan is compatible with his ideas.

Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley also has studied the river and has a pilot plan to breathe life into and beautify three sections of the channel, said Bill Chandler, the mayor’s press secretary. Chandler said he did not know whether the legislation would affect Bradley’s vision for the river.

Other downstream cities, however, say they want no part in the proposed conservancy. “It’s the biggest attack upon home rule in many, many years in the state of California,” said Downey City Manager Jerry Caton.

But Assemblyman Byron Sher (D-Palo Alto), who has strong environmental credentials, said the measure “will restore a polluted river . . . and try to make it into something decent.” With its mere trickle--except in times of flood--and its concrete lining, the Los Angeles River has long been the butt of jokes.

A separate measure by Sen. Milton Marks (D-San Francisco), heading to the governor, spells out the ability of the agency to tap into as much as $800 million in special waterfront bonds, which could be used to finance construction projects, including a high-tech transit system envisioned to run alongside the river channel.