Filing to Open for Town Council Candidates

Filing will open next week for candidates seeking election to the Crescenta Valley Town Council, a quasi-governmental committee formed two years ago to advise the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on local issues.

Six seats and three alternate positions will be open for the special March 19 election.

The filing period will be run Monday through Feb. 20 at the Montrose-Verdugo City Chamber of Commerce, 3808 Ocean View Blvd., Montrose. The office is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays and will be open from noon to 4 p.m. Feb. 16.

Council officials said the filing period was extended this year after a poor turnout of candidates in last year’s election in which there was only a two-day filing period.

That election--the first held since the council was formed in 1989--was canceled after only one candidate qualified for the single open seat in each of three districts. The candidates were declared automatic winners for the two-year terms and alternates were appointed to fill the three one-year, non-voting positions on the council.

“We’re a little nervous about this year’s election,” said Rob O’Neil, a two-year council member who said he is relinquishing his seat.

At least three candidates in each of three council districts are needed to run this year to fill nine open positions on the 12-member council. Two incumbents have said they will step down and others said they have not yet decided to seek reelection.

Positions open include those held by council President Jill Larson, Thomas M. Johnston, Margaret Klug, Don Hogue, Larry Lousen and O’Neil.

Candidates are required to be at least 21 and registered voters who have lived in the area for at least one year. The filing fee is $25.

The election is conducted by a council committee and will be held in the community room of the Crescenta Valley sheriff’s station from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. March 19. Voters need not be U. S. citizens, but must live within the unincorporated county territory of La Crescenta and Montrose north of Glendale.

The most significant issue facing the council is what to do with the county’s 21-year-old master plan for the community. The county’s ambitious plan, adopted before the opening of the Foothill and Glendale freeways, envisions a population of 50,000--more than double the existing 21,000 residents.

The plan also allows such uncharacteristic development as high-rise buildings, expansive commercial strips and high-density neighborhoods of mixed single-family houses, condominiums and townhouses.

A volunteer planning committee and the town council are expected to recommend changes to the master plan this year.