City to Seek State Assistance for Wilderness Park Project

Glendale City Council members took a first step this week toward establishing a 702-acre wilderness recreation area in the city’s largest remaining undeveloped hillside parcel.

The site, known as the Inter-Valley Ranch, is at the base of the San Gabriel Mountains above Crescenta Valley.

On Tuesday, council members voted 4 to 0 to file an application for $100,000 in state assistance to develop an environmental education center inside an abandoned winery at the site.

Development of the center would be the first stage in a three-year, $1.9-million plan to establish the wilderness recreation area at the site, said Robert McFall, Glendale director of parks and recreation.

The plan includes development on a few acres at the park’s entrance of overnight camping facilities that would be used on a permit basis, a picnic area and the educational center. Hiking trails also are planned for the park, McFall said. The remainder of the property would remain undisturbed, he said.

The city of Glendale has made a $2-million down payment to the developer for purchase rights, McFall said. The remaining $2.6 million could come from the 1988 Park Bond Initiative scheduled to go before voters Tuesday, he told the council.

The purchase agreement was made after the city blocked construction of a 283-home subdivision on the property in 1982 and other development proposals.