$2.2-Million State Grant OKd for Foothill Parkland

A $2.25-million state allocation has been approved to assist the city of Glendale in acquiring its largest remaining undeveloped parcel of land, the 702-acre Inter-Valley Ranch.

The funds are included in the $44-billion state budget signed into law by Gov. George Deukmejian and are part of a $776-million parklands bond issue approved by the voters in June.

Nello Iacono, Glendale parks and recreation director, said $2 million of the state allotment will be used to complete the purchase of the ranch, which the city agreed to acquire in March, 1987, for $5.2 million.

The city set aside its own funds to pay $3.2 million of the purchase price.

Iacono said the remaining $250,000 in state funds will be used for initial improvements at the property, which provides key access to state and federal wilderness areas in Los Angeles.

Iacono said details have not been finalized, but initial work could include development of public parking areas and enhanced hiking and riding trails.

The city is seeking another $100,000 in federal funds to develop an interpretive education center at the ranch in a former winery considered to be historically significant.

The winery now is used as a boarding stable.

Iacono said he expects the city to receive the funds in late November or December.

A series of controversial subdivisions had been proposed for the ranch for more than three decades. The property is in the northernmost portion of Glendale, overlooking the Crescenta Valley, and spans Dunsmore and Cooks canyons north of Foothill Boulevard.

The property borders on the Rim of the Valley Trail that stretches from the Santa Monica Mountains through the San Gabriels and ties into a state and national trail system for hiking and horseback riding.