Nuns’ Choice for Tranquil Convent Site Spurs Uproar

High in the hills above Sunland-Tujunga is a serene and picturesque piece of land that a small order of Roman Catholic nuns feels would be the perfect spot for a convent and retreat for visiting nuns.

But instead of tranquillity, the Sisters of Bethany got a holy war.

The nuns’ proposal to build a retreat house, convent and three other buildings on the property has angered residents who fear the project would destroy the scenic peacefulness of the mountains, attract further development and spark floods and fires.

The controversy was heightened last week when an associate zoning administrator with the city of Los Angeles declined to grant permission to build until the nuns modify their plans and answer residents’ concerns about the project.

Modifications Urged

“If I had been forced to make a decision that day, I would have denied it,” said John Parker, the administrator. “I think the plans need to be modified so that the community’s fears are cleared up.”

The opposition to the project and relentless pestering by contractors who are seeking work on the development have so surprised and overwhelmed the Santa Barbara-based nuns that they have gone into hiding, according to a planning consultant working closely with them.

The nuns have stopped answering their telephone and have declined interviews, said the consultant, Peter Lynch.

“They just had no idea that something like this would happen,” Lynch said. “They don’t know what to do and are very frustrated. Somehow all these people have gotten their phone number and are bothering them. And they’ve also got to worry about the other religious things they do.”

Efforts to block a project proposed by the nuns have appeared to some observers to be as insensitive as beating up orphans. Mark Horowitz, a homeowner who opposes the project, said he felt a moral dilemma in speaking out against the development.

Sensitive Issue

“I really am sensitive about the sisters; I think they’re lovely, and they have the best of intentions,” Horowitz said. “We are not in opposition to the kind of use proposed, but the area is designated by the city as minimum density and open space. We want to assure that safety and environmental issues are addressed.

“What’s ironic is that this would destroy the very area they want to retreat to,” he added. “The pristine nature of the whole region would be gone.”

A broker working for the nuns spent a year finding a site for the convent, Lynch said last week. The proposed location is on hilly terrain on the northern side of Verdugo Crestline Drive between Viewpoint Drive and Estaban Way.

The 5.6-acre property that the broker found is zoned for agricultural use and single-family homes, officials said.

The nuns want to build a one-story administration and conference structure, a one-story convent, a two-story building with guest rooms and a one-story chapel.

Seven nuns would be full-time occupants of the convent, and there would be room for 100 nuns during seminars and retreats, according to the conditional-use permit application.

The area surrounding the site is mostly undeveloped, except for a few homes nearby. Substantial grading for roads and removal of flora would be required, the application said.

Proponents said that environmental effects of the project would be minimal, and that property values in the area would rise as a result of the convent.

But publicists for Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs, who represents the area, said there were several negative aspects to the project and that it might have to be cut back.

Arline DeSanctis, Wachs’ chief deputy, said the site is in a major fire and flood region. She said that paving of unimproved streets and disturbance of the ground could result, during rains, in surface runoff that could damage surrounding homes.

Lila Wise, who lives on a street below the site, said she has already been victimized by mudslides from rain, and that the project would make it worse for her.

“I know what happens up here,” Wise said. “I would get flooded out of my home because of indiscriminate bulldozing. That thing is not going to work.”

DeSanctis said the project also could violate a Los Angeles master plan for the area that stipulates that principal mountain ridgelines be protected.

“When it comes down to it, no one really knows what was going on up there, and there was no community input,” she said. “It’s been a quiet project. We want to know all kinds of things, including how much grading is going to be done, what kind of parking and landscaping they’re going to have.”

Lynch said residents’ fears are unjustified. He said the buildings will only cover 8% of the property, and the grading for roads and parking will take up 10% of the site.

“We’re not cutting down the hill and building a monument,” he said. “There are a lot of people who support this project, and they’re even telling the sisters that they think it’s a fine development. I don’t understand what’s going on.”

Lynch said he planned to hold several meetings with residents in coming weeks to help allay their fears. He said he did not know whether the nuns would attend those meetings.