Knabe Urges Plan for Downsized Nature Center at Park

Supervisor Don Knabe is moving forward on his plans to build a downsized nature center at Friendship Park, which straddles San Pedro and Rancho Palos Verdes.

He plans to meet today with Gene Rogers, president of Friends of Friendship Park, the environmental group that opposed plans for a large, $4.4-million nature center on a hill overlooking the park.

The original 6,400-square-foot nature center, planned as a monument to recently retired county Supervisor Deane Dana, would have featured a banquet room, two fireplaces, a kitchen, an exhibit space for Dana’s memorabilia and a 66-car parking lot.

Jane Jones, vice president of Friends of Friendship Park, said the group advocates a 3,000-square-foot facility next to an existing parking lot at the base of the hill.

After Knabe and Rogers confer, the Friends of Friendship Park board of directors will meet Monday to discuss the alternatives for the nature center.

The Friends of Friendship Park was formed more than two years ago to stop construction of the nature center at the 123-acre park. The group filed a lawsuit asking the county to reevaluate the project. But in November, a Superior Court judge rejected the group’s efforts and ruled that the project could proceed as planned.

Knabe, who had been Dana’s chief of staff for 17 years, was elected to the office in November. After his election, he said he would favor downsizing the nature center.