Is the fence around Echo Park Lake permanent?

No action seems to be in the works to remove it, and the local City Council representative said he is still receiving community input on what to do.

But the Neighborhood Council is formally asking to have it taken down - and not replaced.

“The fence is a visual blight,” the Neighborhood Council stated in a Request for Action that it submitted to Councilmember Mitch O'Farrell last month. “It makes the park less accessible, poses a fire hazard to people inside the park, and prevents vendors -- who are integral to the Echo Park community -- from entering and enjoying the park as they have for years. Worse, it sends the unmistakable message that Echo Park is not a welcoming neighborhood and that will never be one of our community’s values.”

There is also support for the fence, though no leader for that group seems to have emerged publicly so far.

A field deputy with O'Farrell's office recently told the neighborhood council that opinion was divided in the community based on input that the Council District 13 office received via email, according to Nick Marcone, Secretary with the Echo Park Neighborhood Council, and Mark Vigeant, co-chair of the Green Committee.

 An informal poll in The Eastsider last May also showed some support for the fence, though the overwhelming majority voted to take it down.

Councilmember O'Farrell said an informal dialogue about the fence is still ongoing, led by the Echo Park community.

“That conversation will continue, and I encourage nearby residents to make their voices heard to my office,” O’Farrell said.