County Panel Hears Testimony, Delays La Vina Project Vote

A 5-year-old proposal to build a luxury housing project in the foothills of Altadena returned to county planning officials’ agenda Wednesday, with proponents saying it will attract jobs and opponents saying it will desecrate a secluded canyon neighborhood.

The Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission heard two hours of testimony on the proposal to build 272 homes on a 220-acre property that lies largely within Angeles National Forest.

County planners said they have received so much correspondence on the La Vina project that a vote will be postponed until Nov. 20 to give commissioners time to digest the information.

The commissioners, who gave conceptual approval to the project two years ago, are considering its specific plans--including the removal of 244 oak trees, development of an 8.4-acre school for up to 500 students, and preservation of 110 acres of open space.

The ultimate fate of the development, where homes would be priced from $350,000 to $650,000 and access restricted by a gate, is further clouded by a lawsuit filed by neighborhood activists. The lawsuit claimed that an environmental impact report on the project was inadequate and biased because the firm that prepared it was hired by the developer.

A Los Angeles Superior Court judge ruled in favor of the project’s opponents last year. But a state appellate court this summer overturned that decision, saying environmental reports are not inherently tainted if they are prepared by developer-paid consultants. The appellate court decision cleared the way for Wednesday’s hearing.

The hearing room in the county Hall of Records was packed, in large part by project supporters who were treated to breakfast by developer Tim Cantwell, then bused downtown for the hearing and supplied with pink “Yes! La Vina” buttons.

Many of the supporters said their backing was based on a novel job training and placement program that, if the project moves ahead, will attempt to channel some construction jobs to local residents.

The Pasadena branch of the Urban League already has recruited residents of the predominantly black, low-income community near Lincoln Avenue into the job program. A database has been established to help match workers with contractors. And Pasadena City College will provide training in skilled construction trades.

Cantwell and his partners provided start-up money for the project.

The Altadena Chapter of the NAACP wrote a letter to project opponents saying it was “regrettable that your lawsuit interferes with the livelihood of hundreds of the minority residents of Altadena.”

But opponents said the jobs program that Cantwell has provided for the community is a distraction from the real issues.

A resident of Lincoln Avenue, which will become the principal entrance to the development, called its opponents the “silent majority.”

Said Dorothy Martin: “We may not be able to compete with a full-time, paid PR person, plying people with . . . breakfasts, barbecues and bus rides in exchange for support.” But she noted that project foes have collected more than 1,000 signatures of people opposing the development.

Several other area residents spoke against La Vina, which would be built on the site of what was once a tuberculosis sanitarium.

Adolfo Miralles said the quality of life in the foothills would be eroded by the massive grading of the property and removal of the oak trees. Steve Lamb of the Altadena Town Council, a group that represents the unincorporated community, said a housing project would be advisable only if it were limited to 131 homes.

Planning commissioners--who are scheduled to visit the property Nov. 18--gave no indication which way they are leaning on the project.