By Eliza Partika
Glendale News-Press
The Crescenta Valley Community Association discussed several topics of concern to Foothill residents including the Friends of Rockhaven lawsuit against Glendale, the efforts to prevent residential construction in Canyon Hills north of the 210 Freeway and Glendale’s plan to elect City Councilmembers by district rather than at-large at a June 22 meeting.
“Out of frustration with Glendale allowing further deterioration of the Rockhaven property, this spring, Friends of Rockhaven filed a lawsuit against the city to require it to repair the buildings and account for money budgeted for Rockhaven preservation. Glendale’s response argues that the Friends are not entitled relief,” wrote Mary Lynne Fisher, a member of the CVCA. A hearing is scheduled for September.
The latest development in the move to prevent construction of almost 300 luxury homes in the Canyon Hills in Tujunga was outlined in a letter from state Sens. Anthony Portantino and Caroline Menjivar to the Los Angeles city planning department urging them to conduct a new Environmental Impact Report to replace the one done 20 years ago. The senators’ letter cites the changes to the area since the project was approved in 2005 and especially the limited evacuation routes in the event of a wildfire similar to the 2017 La Tuna Fire.
Mateo Altman of North Canyon Hills reported on their group’s visioning meeting on June 14, which drew more than 175 attendees including a representative from Portantino’s office. While no one from Assemblymember Laura Friedman’s office attended the visioning meeting, a member of Friedman’s legislative staff, Christopher Khachadour, attended the CVCA meeting and said he would speak to Friedman about the issue. The Canyon Hills area is deemed wildfire prone and habitat sensitive to locals.
“A related issue was the decision by two major homeowners insurers, Allstate and State Farm, to stop writing new homeowners policies in California. As all mortgage lenders require borrowers to carry fire insurance, this trend could have a serious impact on residents’ ability to buy homes,” said Fisher.
The association also discussed how the California Voting Rights Act has spurred Glendale and surrounding cities such as Burbank to change the way they elect City Councilmembers and encouraged attendance at the city’s in-person and virtual community workshops on the issue of redistricting. Residents can find a meeting schedule and an interactive map at mapglendale.org. That map will allow residents to propose specific district boundaries. The deadline for proposing maps is Saturday, Aug. 5.
The CVCA’s next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 27.
First published in the July 8 print issue of the Glendale News-Press.
