By Mikaela STONE

Tensions flared at the September Crescenta Valley Town Council meeting as constituents packed the La Crescenta Library community room, leaving it standing room only as over 80 citizens anxiously waited for the Citizen Concern portion of the council meeting. Concerns arose from the presence of an alleged “detox spa” soon to be installed on Frances Avenue in the unincorporated portion of La Crescenta on a street largely populated by families. The primary concerns voiced were the safety of having this type of establishment alongside homes as well as the conflicting information given by representatives of the U Matter Luxury Resort. After being assured that the treatment center involved no medically-assisted withdrawals, neighbors referenced U Matter’s website and its contradictory “who we treat” listing that included substance abuse disorder/addiction and sex addiction, much to locals’ dismay.

They also worried that the treatment plan listed on the website included Neuro Restorative Procedures and community integration. According to the Neuro Restorative Procedure website, its procedure is designed to help people with “brain, spinal cord and medically complex injuries” to have increased independence, and may involve a clinical evaluator, medical staff, behavioral analyst, neuropsychologist, speech and language pathologist, and other therapeutic staff, involving reteaching ambulation, problem solving, and memory – something a spa is ill equipped to provide, the neighbors believe. There was also concern regarding the “community integration” portion of the treatment plan. These items were removed from the website after locals asked for an explanation from U Matter. The site then softened the “who we treat” listing to those who “have past or passive substance use disorder or addiction” and foregoing entirely the mention of sex addiction. This change aroused suspicions in neighbors who felt they had been blindsided. Frustrations only flamed further when spokesperson Prescilla Cardenas reiterated that U Matter was a detox spa with no medical aspect and claimed that she personally had been unaware of public upset until she saw it on social media.

Attendees of the CVTC meeting asserted they had extended an informal invitation to the owners and representatives of U Matter to defend themselves at the council meeting but received no response.

Frances Street neighbors provided screen shots of the changing website and spoke about concerns regarding how the business would change real estate value, the difficulty of parking on the narrow street, and whether the public would be better served by renting the building to an actual homeowner. Regardless of whether there is an innocent answer to the public’s fears, the decision by U Matter representatives to quietly change their website rather than addressing the reasons for their inconsistencies has broken the trust of their neighbors. Locals presented the Crescenta Valley Town Council with a petition signed by over 500 voters to block the business from moving in.

While the reason for the meeting’s large turnout was the U Matter facility, though it was not an agendized item, it was not the only concern of the Town Council. The board of supervisors and Treasurer and Tax Collector – LA County has suggested an ordinance to address public concerns regarding short term rentals (STRs), such as AirBnB, in the county’s unincorporated area. Tax Collector Monica Allen asserted that citizens “should know who [they] live next to.” They seek to impose the same transient opportunity tax that is already included in hotels, as well as restricting which structures can be rented. To prevent corporations from buying houses that could be rented to prospective homeowners, the ordinance would require the owner of the property placed on a third party short term rental website be that person’s primary residence. Other features of the ordinance would include restricting stays in which the host is not present, requiring renters to stay for more than one night to avoid single use “party house” rentals, and a complaint hotline to prevent public nuisances. Should this law go into effect, it would not be enforced until six months after passing as a grace period for outreach and staff hiring. Multiple citizens showed up to speak in defense of the ordinance, including the Better Neighbors LA affordable housing advocation nonprofit and the united hospitality workers of the Unite Here! Local 11 labor union subset. Unite Here! asserted that the local renter has to make on average $42.25 an hour to afford Crescenta Valley rents. It is their hope that regulating short term rentals would alleviate artificially increased housing demand and relieve pressure on consumers.

The ordinance has been on the books since 2019; since its introduction, short term rentals have increased by 70%, a number expected to grow. Whether this ordinance is the answer, though, remains up to debate. The CVTC decided to speak to the negative effects of STRs, but expressed concerns about the enforceability of the ordinance.

Another plan that has been multiple years in the making has finally come to fruition for the fire department. The Los Angeles County Fire Dept. used the Crescenta Valley Town Council meeting to announce the unveiling of its partnership with Genasys Protect, a safety notification app and website. It splits the Crescenta Valley into three evacuation zones to be notified in the case of potential emergency situations. Having the Genasys Protect app on one’s phone or checking protect.genasys.com would provide citizens with a color coded notification system to make them aware of the level of danger in the case of wildland fires. The department assured those present that this system “doesn’t replace anything [they have] been doing for years” and instead enhances public knowledge of whether evacuation warnings or orders have been sent out.

The California Highway Patrol spokesperson also talked about the numerous citations issued in August. These included a driving under the influence citation that led to a residential search warrant. (See the full story on page 6 “CHP Arrests Local Resident on Gun Charges.”)

Many of the issues discussed in the CVTC meeting will be revisited in the future. The Town Council encourages community members come to the meetings so they have a voice in the decisions that will affect them.