A Trailer Park Proposal in 1960 – La Crescenta Said, ‘No Way!’

A trailer park in what is now the pricey above-Foothill residential area? When that proposal hit the local newspaper in early January 1960, some residents of the valley no doubt envisioned the stereotypical tightly packed lower income housing that has often attached itself to the term “trailer park.” Others (well, mostly the developer) envisioned the transformation of a boulder-strewn field of patchy sagebrush into a park-like setting of mobile homes for seniors.

By 1960, the valley had grown by leaps and bounds. The shortage of water for new housing had been solved by Glendale’s annexation of the western half of the valley and the formation of an effective water utility for the remainder. Any empty land was seen as an opportunity for development and there were many ambitious proposals being thrown around.

Local developer Dell Arganbright owned extensive acreage at the top of Rosemont and La Crescenta avenues, including the old Bissel Ranch (today’s Pinecrest). In January 1960 he applied for a variance for a 16-acre parcel to change the zoning from single-family to mobile-home park. The parcel was just above Two Strike Park on Rosemont, extending up beyond the top of Rosemont.

When that application went public, the local paper carried the headline in giant letters: “Fight Shaping Up Over Proposed Trailer Park For La Crescenta.” On either side of the headlines were articles touting opposing views.

“Would Create Beauty Spot, Firm Claims” gave the case for the trailer park. It described the trailer park as 10 terraces containing pads for 76 mobile homes (with a minimum of 50 feet), each with a carport and patio. The current so-called “waste land” would be transformed with elaborate landscaping, green and flowering. Arganbright argued that “the nature of the land has prohibited home construction” and that “the end result will be an exclusive residential ‘island’ for mobile homes of the most expensive design, to attract some of the many well-to-do retired couples who flock to Southern California each year.”

On the opposite side of the headlines was “Homeowners Oppose Move.” The individual homeowners expressed that the presence of a “trailer park” would devalue the homes around it, some priced at $20,000 and more (wow!). Furthermore, they feared this would signal an erosive trend in single-family zoning.

Both sides lawyered up and the issue got heated fast. For some reason, the Chamber of Commerce stepped in as the de facto voice of the local homeowners. At the Chamber of Commerce meeting, the representatives of the developer argued that the land was currently an eyesore and a fire hazard. Since this trailer park would target seniors, there would be no added kids to burden local schools, and it would add money to the local economy.

But for the homeowners there really was no getting around the stigma of “trailer park.” As one of the developer’s representatives tried to stress, this really came down to a matter of semantics. This wouldn’t be a trailer park. It would be a “mobile home park” and modern mobile home parks were beautiful and serene. It would be a great improvement and a boon to the community.

The Chamber of Commerce could sense the community tension building and wisely backed away from taking a stand. The Crescenta-Cañada Board of Realtors, however, plunged into the fray, voting unanimously to oppose the trailer park proposal. Letters to the editor opposing the project were printed. A lone letter writer supporting the trailer park declined to give his name, perhaps indicative of the community’s growing opposition.

Just days before the zoning hearing and less than a month after the project’s announcement, the developer pulled his application citing “formidable local opposition.” The developer, doing a quick 180, indicated he would next look at the site as a possible location for a country club. As we know today, despite the developer’s protestations that the land was unsuited for single-family homes, many beautiful homes were indeed built there. But how that neighborhood would have looked today had the trailer park been built is anyone’s guess.

  mike lawler