Altadena : No La Vina Endorsement

Amid stormy debate Tuesday, the Town Council reversed a conditional endorsement of the La Vina housing proposal and agreed by voice vote to oppose the development unless it is severely cut back.

The council decided to reconsider the plan after Councilman Steven Lamb informed council members in February that much of the proposed 220-acre site at the top of Lincoln Avenue is within the Angeles National Forest, where housing density is limited by the Altadena General Plan to no more than one dwelling per five acres.

At the request of Land Use Committee Chairwoman Camille Dudley, the Town Council voted to urge the county to comply with the General Plan, which would limit the development to about 48 homes.

Since the plan was first proposed in July, 1988, the council has consistently recommended that it be limited to 131 new homes--even after developers Cantwell-Anderson and Southwest Diversified won county approval to build more than 270 single-family homes and a school.