Glenoaks Canyon Residents Urge Rejection of 25-House Subdivision

Angry Glenoaks Canyon residents Tuesday urged the Glendale City Council to either reduce the project’s size or drop plans to build 25 hillside houses on an extension of Sleepy Hollow Place, south of Glenoaks Boulevard.

More than 200 residents, most of whom were opposed to Doty Development’s planned subdivision, packed the City Council chambers and spilled into a downstairs lobby. The hearing was called to receive public comments about the environmental impact report on the tract.

The speakers complained that the project will mar the beauty of the scenic hillside area, destroy oak trees, create traffic jams and add to school crowding. They said it will invite more hillside building.

“Why destroy our little piece of the world to make it look like the rest of Los Angeles?” asked Courtney Kennedy, a nearby resident. “This is only the beginning. It will not stop here.”

Doty wants to build 25 houses, each priced at about $1 million, on the 30-acre site.

After three hours of testimony, the council referred the report to city planning officials. They will prepare a final version addressing the residents’ concerns.

The council is expected to vote on the subdivision proposal when the environmental report is completed in about a month. The Sleepy Hollow project was not affected by a moratorium on hillside development, approved earlier Tuesday by the council, because the project was already under city review.

Some residents were angered by Sleepy Hollow’s omission from the moratorium. One flier circulated in Glenoaks Canyon accused the council of favoring developers who contribute to local campaigns.

Mayor Jerold F. Milner reacted angrily during the hearing, saying, “Let me tell you, not one of the people on this council is being bought by anyone.”

James C. Crisp, a consultant hired by the city, said the project would destroy 58 oak trees. Doty’s landscape expert told the council 28 would be lost.

Crisp displayed several alternatives to Doty’s plan, including constructing a second access road and redesigning the subdivision. Another alternative, which Crisp said would cause the least environmental damage, permits only 14 houses.

David Weaver, president of the Glenoaks Canyon Homeowners Assn., said his group does not want any more development in the area. But if forced to accept the Sleepy Hollow project, Weaver said, his board favors only 12 new houses.

Other residents said they would not accept even 12 houses and urged the city to reject the proposal and buy the land for open space.