The February meeting of the Crescenta Valley Community Association on Thursday opened with a discussion of the mixed-use condo/commercial project at 3037-3045 Foothill Blvd. in the unincorporated portion of La Crescenta. Sharon Raghavachary has reviewed the revised plans submitted by the developer to LA County Planning and determined the project is still not in compliance with the community plan. She will follow up with County Planning and continue to provide status updates.

Glendale and nearby residents have continued to come to Glendale City Council meetings to lobby against the current preferred option in the Draft Environmental Impact Report on the Grayson Repowering project. Despite numerous calls to delay the DEIR, the council voted on Feb. 6 to complete it, including consideration of all the public comments. Due to the overwhelming call to reduce the amount of electricity generated via natural gas and increase production via sustainable methods, there will also be a review of new technologies since the DEIR was begun. The DEIR is expected to be brought to council in late March. You can review the video of the six-hour Feb. 6 council meeting via the city’s website, https://tinyurl.com/ydburdru. The Glendale Environmental Coalition has provided a website on the project with information on how you can participate in the public input, http://stopgrayson.com/. It also maintains updates on the current status. Please make a note of the site if you are concerned with this issue. They will have in-depth knowledge on Grayson Repowering, much like V.O.I.C.E on saving the Verdugo Hills Golf Course from development, and Friends of Rockhaven on the effort to preserve that complex.

Grayson Repowering is a very critical, long-range situation generating strong emotions in many residents. I urge people to consider that honest differences of opinion exist without the necessity of there being nefarious motives. I hope public discourse remains civil and focused on finding the best solution. Speculation on others’ motives wastes everyone’s time.

The Glendale City Council adopted ordinance changes at its Jan. 30 meeting to allow Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) up to 600 sq. ft., although the state law mandating the changes would have allowed the so-called granny flats to be up to 1,200 sq. ft. La Cañada Flintridge’s ordinance will allow up to the state limit.

We noted that representatives from LA County Public Works had confirmed at the Crescenta Valley Town Council meeting of Feb. 15 that the dirt hauling into the sediment placement site adjacent to Deukmejian Wilderness Park is to clean out nearby debris basins to protect residents below recently burned hillsides. Any concerns with the operation should be directed to the county.

Other brief updates: Glendale will vote on moving elections to coincide with the state primary and the Glendale Tenants Union is gathering signatures for a rent control measure. Their original petition did not follow state mandated guidelines.

The bulk of attendees came to voice their objection to the Welcome to Glendale monument signs that are in the process of being installed on Foothill Boulevard at Pennsylvania and Lowell avenues. Sharon Raghavachary is recapping that segment of the meeting in a letter to be sent to the Glendale City Council. Comments regarding that issue indicated some confusion about our mission. CVCA provides a forum for sharing information on local land use activity and regional issues affecting the Crescenta Valley. We advocate for issues where there is consensus on the Steering Committee. In our over 10-year existence we have offered our meetings for developers to explore possibilities with the community prior to formal submission to government bodies, hosted occasional guest speakers and conducted candidate forums. We can facilitate resident interaction with public agencies by directing you to the appropriate jurisdiction and sharing our experience with previous projects. We encourage all stakeholders to participate actively and attend our meetings to exchange information. There is more information on our website, https://www.cvcommunity.net/, but it is not regularly updated. See our Facebook page for current activity.

The next CVCA meeting will be March 22 starting at 7 p.m. in the community room at the La Crescenta Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd. Park in the upper lot accessed from La Crescenta Avenue. All Crescenta Valley residents and stakeholders are welcome.

  SHARON WEISMAN