Music, Art Center at Camp Approved

The Glendale City Council on Tuesday approved plans for a music and art center at Camp Max Straus in the Verdugo Mountains on the condition that nearby homes be protected from noise.

Neighbors of the 112-acre sleep-away camp for boys and girls had expressed concern about noise from concerts and plays at a proposed outdoor amphitheater that would be part of the center.

As a result, the council voted unanimously to require the camp to build an eight-foot-high sound wall, to prohibit use of the amphitheater after 10 p.m. and to bar sound amplification equipment.

The camp, which has room for 120 youngsters, has been off Shirleyjean Street since 1938. It is run by the Jewish Big Brothers Assn. but serves troubled youngsters of all religions, an association official said.

Work on the arts center is expected to begin soon, but the building probably will not be completed in time for this year’s summer campers, the official said.