About the venice canals association
The Venice Canals
The Venice Canals community is located in Venice, CA, 90291 and is part of the City of Los Angeles. We are south of the City of Santa Monica and north of the Marina del Rey small boat harbor, and a few minutes from the Pacific Ocean and the renowned Venice Beach Boardwalk.
The Canals are comprised of six canals, approximately one and a half miles in length, and fifty feet in width, and are laid out in a grid. Carroll, Linnie, Howland, and Sherman Canals run in an east to west direction, Eastern and Grand run north and south. The one-way vehicular entrance to the Canals is at Dell Avenue and Sherman Canal. Dell Avenue traverses four bridges in a south to north direction. Access to the homes from Dell Ave. is provide by Courts A, B, C, D, and E. (See map below)
In addition, nine footbridges provide access within the canals. The canals’ ocean water comes from the Marina del Rey and is controlled by tidal gates at the Marina del Rey jetty and at Washington Blvd. To maintain the quality of the water, the Washington Blvd. gates are opened twice a week to the natural flushing of the ocean tides. The Canals are listed on the National and City of Los Angeles Registry of Historical Places.
The Venice Canals Association
The Venice Canal Association, or VCA, is a domestic non-profit California Corporation originally organized in 1975 and incorporated on January 30, 1976 under the name: THE RESIDENT AND NON-RESIDENT PROPERTY OWNERS ASSOCIATION FOR THE PRESERVATION OF THE NORTH VENICE CANAL, INC. Such an ambitious name endeavored to convey the scope of the VCA’s membership and its goal to preserve the natural environment and beauty of the Venice Canals.
Two years later, the name was shortened to the VENICE WATERWAYS ASSOCIATION, INC and finally, in 1986, the current name, VENICE CANALS ASSOCIATION, was adopted. The Board consists of 11 member-elected Directors serving staggered two-year terms. General Membership is composed of a majority of the 400 property owners on the Canals but approximatly 10% of our members are “Friends of the Canals”, resident and non-residents of the Canals who simply share a love and concern for the well-being of our unique community.
Serving our Canals community for 43 years, the VCA will continue to protect and preserve this unique recreational wetland environment. Ongoing accomplishments by the VCA include:
- Working to improve and protect the water quality of the entire North Venice Canals waterway system
- Maintaining the beauty of the Canals by purchasing and replacing the Saltbush (Atriplex) plants that act as natural handrails along the sidewalk. Our Adopt-A-Plant allows residents to nurture the young bushes until they are ready for planting.
- Planting environmentally appropriate trees in and around the Canals in conjunction with the City.
- Designing and installing unique signage to direct residents and visitors alike who wish to enjoy the Canals. These include public signs to better protect the wildlife of the Canals; directional signs and “rules and regulations” signs for public safety and the use of the waterways.
- Purchasing trash receptacles and arranging City trash collection.
- Rehabilitating the children’s Linnie Canal Park and Duck Yard on Dell Avenue
- Coordinating with the City to clean up unsightly graffiti on signs and bridges
- Protecting and improving the water quality of the entire North Venice Canals waterway system by working with the City to install filters on storm drains that empty into the Venice Canals and drains in the access Courts and parking lots adjacent to the Canals, thus minimizing intrusive contaminants.
- Awarded matching funds from the LA Board of Public works, along with the Voice of the Canals, for a beautification effort, we chose to create a formal “gateway” at the entry into the Canals on Dell Avenue. It was here we placed the commemorative marker designating our Venice Canals an historic landmark.
As a result of our work to restore the Canals historically as well as environmentally, the Canals were honored to be chosen to the National Registry of Historic Places.
Our work is on-going. We look forward to many more years of serving our community and sincerely appreciate the continuing support from our members. Membership in the Venice Canals Association does make a difference.
If you are interested in becoming a “General Member” or a “Friend of the Canals”, email us at [email protected] today! A “General” membership costs just $50. And a “Friends” membership costs only $25 per year per household! With your membership, you will receive the latest news about all our wonderful VCA projects, plus E-Announcements that give you immediate notification of events affecting Venice and our unique historical Canals community.