Supervisor wants answers on Foothill project

LA CRESCENTA — Los Angeles County Supervisor Mike Antonovich criticized county planners for improperly approving plans for a controversial project slated for Foothill Boulevard.

County supervisors this week approved a motion from Antonovich directing planners to investigate what went wrong in reviewing a planned three-story retail and office building in the 2600 block of Foothill Boulevard.

Crews had already started work on the site this summer when Los Angeles County officials confirmed that the building’s plans inaccurately depicted the site’s slope — a mistake first noted by a local resident. Officials halted work until the plans were revised.

The Foothill project has drawn the ire of local residents who say excavation for its underground parking garage could harm a 100-year-old tree on an adjacent lot. Community members have also spoken out against its height, which will now have to be reduced.

On Tuesday, Antonovich and the other supervisors directed county planners to draft a report on the process and identify remedies to prevent similar errors on future development.

“County staff’s initial review of the developer-provided information was inadequate,” he said in the written motion. “Additionally, it should not fall to neighbors to bring these inaccuracies to the county’s attention.”

Mike Lawler, president of the Historical Society of Crescenta Valley and critic of the county’s involvement in the project, said he was glad to see some movement.

“They’ve got to have better oversight of this stuff,” he said.