FACILITIES
Plans Project Schedule Environmental Process
PLEASE NOTE the following caveat regarding the San Gabriel River Discovery Center Schematic Design Report, dated May 2006:
The Schematic Design Report is NOT the current plan for the proposed San Gabriel River Discovery Center project. View the current proposed plan by clicking on Conceptual Site Plan (11 in. x 17 in. PDF file). The current proposed plan is the result of public and stakeholder input received by the Authority since the Schematic Design Report was released in May, 2006. It is important to note that environmental review for the current proposed plan is NOT complete, and additional changes and refinements may be made to the current proposed plan.
Additionally, projects mentioned in the 2006 Schematic Design Report (such as Lario Creek) are NOT part of the current proposed plan for the San Gabriel River Discovery Center project. The Authority is not responsible for any proposed projects OUTSIDE the current proposed project area. Those proposed projects must undergo environmental review prior to development, and would be the responsibility of agencies/entities OTHER than the Authority.
The Schematic Design Report (12.3 MB, 123 page PDF) is a summary of the highly collaborative process linking numerous federal, state and local agencies in cooperation with public institutions and private groups during development of the San Gabriel River Discovery Center concept over a several years. The report contains concepts for the project which are now outdated. Again, it is important to note that environmental review for the current proposed plan is NOT complete, and additional changes and refinements may be made to the current proposed plan.
The facility is planned as a LEED
Platinum "green" building with a meeting
area, classrooms, and hands-on exhibits about the
river's ecology, watershed education, and conservationn.
The site includes an outdoor classroom.
The Discovery Center will also be an important node
in the planned Emerald Necklace chain of parks along
the San Gabriel River. View a map
of the Emerald Necklace (1-page PDF file).
Project Schedule
| Phase | Completion Date |
| Conceptual Design | June 2006 (Complete) |
| Environmental Analysis | Spring 2009 |
| Fundraising | Ongoing |
| Construction Documents | 2009 |
| Construction Start | 2010/2011 |
| Opening | 2011/2012 |
Environental Process
The environmental process for the Discovery Center
is underway. A public scoping meeting was held on
Wednesday, September 27, 2006 at South El Monte High
School to introduce and discuss the San Gabriel River
Discovery Center project. The purpose of the scoping
meeting was to solicit comments as to the scope and
contents of the Draft Environmental Impact Report
(EIR). The following documents were created as
part of the scoping meeting process.
- Notice of Preparation of an Environmental Impact Report for the San Gabriel River Discovery Center at Whittier Narrows Project (6-page PDF file - posted here prior to the meeting)
- San Gabriel River Discovery Center CEQA Initial Study (32-page PDF file - posted here prior to the meeting)
- PowerPoint presentation (15-page PDF file - shown at the scoping meeting..)
- Minutes of the scoping meeting. (1-page pdf file - created following the meeting)