By Jason KUROSU

The recent CVCA meeting covered issues that may quite literally change the landscape of La Crescenta and La Cañada- Flintridge.

The first topic discussed was the clean out of the Devil’s Gate Dam in Pasadena. Grace Yu, an engineer with Los Angeles County Public Works, made a presentation on the county’s plans for cleaning debris out of the dam. Currently, an Environmental Impact Report is being put together to see how to go forward with the massive removal of over one million cubic yards of debris. The report, according to Yu, could take up to two years to complete, before moving onto the next steps.

In the meantime, interim operational measures will be conducted to “protect the dam’s integrity until the project can be completed,” said Yu. These measures will include hauling out 25,000 cubic yards of sediment between June 17 and Aug. 25 as well as replacing and modifying old and/or damaged parts of the dam. The sediment will be hauled out with about 40 to 50 trucks carrying 10 cubic yards of sediment each. Residents in the area have expressed concerns about the possibility of trucks continuously hauling through their neighborhoods, but Yu assured that “there will be minimal impacts to residents and recreational reservoir users.”

She also cited some management practices that the county is taking to ensure a smooth operation, such as street sweepers and tarped trucks to keep sediment out of the streets and flagmen to direct traffic.

Another meeting of the sediment management task force will take place at the Los Angeles County Public Works Headquarters on June 29.

The next item of discussion was recapping a North Glendale Community Plan meeting which left the members of the CVCA frustrated and disappointed. The point of contention came when the CVCA felt that their interest in lowering the height limits on buildings along Foothill Boulevard from 50 feet to 35 feet went unaddressed. The CVCA felt that the commercial property owners would prefer to keep height limits the same whether or not this had an adverse effect on parking or the aesthetics of the neighborhood. However, they felt that was due to low representation at the community meeting, and therefore plan to get the word out to residents living near Foothill, so that they may attend the open house in July.

The last item covered was the local Chamlian school’s proposal for the construction of a 9,345-square-foot gymnasium on the property. The Planning Commission already denied permits for the gym in January, but the school appealed to the city council, which overturned the Planning Commission’s decision on Tuesday evening.

The CVCA echoed concerns voiced by residents when the gym was originally proposed: those of traffic and parking. Traffic and parking reportedly are already issues along Lowell Avenue, where the school resides, including reports of littering and parents parking in other people’s driveways during particularly busy events such as Back to School night. The gymnasium, the CVCA and residents feel, would only exacerbate those issues. The CVCA was also concerned with the appeal to the city council, stating that there was a conflict of interest with some council members whose relatives have children attending Chamlian School. The CVCA members suggested gathering members of the community to attend the public hearing at the council chambers on May 31, “playing the numbers game,” as they plan to do with the open house in July.

As intimate as the small CVCA meetings held weekly at Dunsmore Park may be, it seems that a much larger representation of community members will be necessary to make the residents heard.

  CVCA, Jason Kurosu, JUNE 02, News