By Brandon HENSLEY

L.A. County Regional Planning is hoping to meet with the board of supervisors in March for a vote on its General Plan Update, said planner Leon Freeman at the Jan. 15 Crescenta Valley Town Council meeting.

According to L.A County, the General Plan Update is a comprehensive update of the existing plan. Its goal is to establish future growth and land use development patterns for the unincorporated areas of the county (La Crescenta falls into the west San Gabriel Valley area). The update will replace all elements of the current plan, except for the Housing Element, which was updated and adopted in February 2014.

Freeman gave a presentation on what County’s broad goals are for the new plan. The existing plan was adopted in 1980 and was based on 1970 census data.

“The overarching goal of the plan update is sustainability, which means meeting needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own economic, social and environmental needs,” Freeman said.

To do this, he identified five main principles: smart growth, aligning housing and jobs with transit; sufficient community services and infrastructure, ensuring there is adequate infrastructure for development; providing a strong and diversified economy; effective environment resource management, to improve air and water quality; healthy, livable equitable communities that provide a high quality of life and favorable business environment.

Transit Oriented Development is one of the major policies, said Freeman. The plan establishes 11 Transit Oriented Districts (TODs), areas within a half-mile of an existing metro stop. The plan proposes high residential densities and mixed-use developments to accommodate new growth.

“Most TODs are in the south part of the county on Metro’s blue and green lines,” Freeman said. “There is one TOD proposed on the Sierra Madre Villa station in east Pasadena, east San Gabriel.”

The planning framework divides the county into 11 areas based on existing political and geographical boundaries.

“Once the general plan is adopted, the idea is that the department would begin working on area plans, where we would begin to able to focus on subregional issues and update existing community plans within these areas,” Freeman said.

For more information, visit www.regional.lacounty.gov/generalplan, or contact the General Plan Update team at (213) 974-6417 or planning.lacounty.gov/generalplan.

Before Freeman spoke, council honored the Crescenta Valley High School football team with certificates for its players and coaches. The Falcons won the CIF Southeast Division championship this past season, its first CIF title since 1973. The team went undefeated, finishing 14-0.

“I look around and see all these guys, these are guys I grew up with,” said senior wide receiver Connor Van Ginkel. “We had a special bond that I don’t think any other team had. Going into the last game we knew we were going to win because we came in together as one whole team.”

“We created a family out of nothing, and that’s what it’s all about. That’s why we got so far,” said senior linebacker Brody Bowers.

The Falcons have been honored by the Glendale Unified School District and the L.A. County board of supervisors, but Coach Paul Schilling said being appreciated in La Crescenta is special.

“Being up here on the hill, our little town, this is us,” Schilling said. “We don’t have all these recruits coming in from everywhere. We’re just regular guys from La Crescenta that grew up here and have had a great run.”

After the football team left, councilmember Dr. Young Suh presented James Pak with a proclamation for Korean-American Day, which was on Jan. 13. Pak is president of the Korean-American Federation of North Los Angeles. Korean-American Day commemorates the first arrival of Korean immigrants in 1903.

On Feb. 22 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. students from seventh grade through high school will be selling items at the first ever Youth Entrepreneurial Fair, sponsored by the CV Youth Town Council. The fair will be held on Honolulu Avenue near the Farmers Market. Applications are available for download at thecvcouncil.com. There will be a separate section for all of the youth vendors during the Farmers Market. The fair will be a way for the youth to learn how to run their own business for a day. Items to sell can be jewelry, hair clips and any type of item the youth feel the general public would be interested in purchasing.

The American Legion on La Crescenta Avenue  will hold a  St. Patrick’s Day dinner on March 14 at 6 p.m. at the American Legion Hall. Tickets are $12. The night will include a silent auction and a 50/50 drawing. Last year the Legion raised over $3,500, said member Mike Baldwin. All of the money went to youth groups in the foothills, such as Crescenta Valley High School’s Prom Plus, and Junior ROTC organizations.

The next CVTC meeting is scheduled for Feb. 19 at 7 p.m. in the La Crescenta Library Community Room, 2809 Foothill Blvd, La Crescenta.

  Brandon Hensley, Mary Okeefe