Project Threatens the Environment, Report Concludes

Building as many as 572 homes on the northern face of the Verdugo Mountains would have a negative effect on the air, wildlife and scenic vistas of the Glendale hillside area, according to an environmental report released Tuesday.

The widely debated Oakmont V development “would directly eliminate at least 177 acres of ecosystem,” while “loss of the existing blueline stream, riparian forest and oak woodland would be irreversible,” stated the study ordered by the Glendale City Council.

It considers several alternatives to the proposal, including scaled-back versions ranging from 50 to 482 homes, building a cemetery on the property instead, or dropping the project altogether. All but the latter would significantly affect the environment, but none would generate substantial population growth, stated the report conducted by Jones & Stokes, a consulting firm based in Irvine.

Few supporters or opponents had read the thick report Tuesday, including developer Lee Gregg. But in a prepared statement, he criticized the city for “having spent another half-million dollars of our money” to conduct the study.

The report was a revision of a previous environmental study that was determined last year to be inadequate. Its release begins a 45-day public review period.

Oakmont has been a hot-button issue in Glendale for about 10 years. Proposed before 1993, when the city adopted an ordinance limiting the number of homes that could be built on hillsides and in canyons, Oakmont’s developers insist the project should be allowed under the older, less-restrictive laws.

If held to the hillside preservation ordinance, only 50 homes could be built on the site, city officials said.

Environmentalists view the 238-acre parcel as critical to preservation of natural habitat and open space. The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy is seeking financial support from local legislators to buy the site and eliminate the possibility of future development.

“Oakmont is one of the most important to acquire in Southern California,” said Joseph T. Edmiston, the conservancy’s director. “The Verdugos are at critical mass in terms of sustainable ecosystem. It is just at the stage now to keep the higher forms of predators.”

A state budget request by state Sen. Jack Scott (D-Altadena), if approved by the Legislature, would add $2 million to the conservancy’s $5-million purse toward buying Oakmont, should Gregg Development agree to sell.

The city will hold a public hearing on the revised report at 5 p.m. Aug. 15 in the Glendale High School auditorium. Past hearings on Oakmont have drawn hundreds of residents.

Community groups already were organizing to oppose the development. Max Hobbs, vice president of Volunteers Organized In Conserving the Environment, said his group has hired experts to review and prepare comments on the revised report.

“Our hopes are to find a way [for the conservancy] to purchase the property so it doesn’t get developed,” Hobbs said, “or if it does, so it is developed for recreation or according to the hillside ordinance.”