La Cañada looking toward an active 2014

La Cañadans can expect a busy year ahead. Residents will watch sound walls being constructed while a Gelson’s opens in a popular shopping center in the city. City officials will tackle issues such as affordable housing and off-leash dogs.

On the education front, voters will decide if they want to continue with a parcel tax, and teachers will adjust to the new California Common Core standards.

Sound walls

Some residents can expect quieter homes in the near future.

Officials broke ground last month on the first of three sound walls that are scheduled to be built this year.

The noise-blocking barriers are expected to reduce sound by a few decibels.

The sound walls will be constructed west of St. Francis High School, around the eastbound Foothill Boulevard freeway onramp to Berkshire Place, and along the south side of Curran Street between Indiana Avenue and Union Street.

The project is supported mostly through Measure R funds.

New supermarket

Residents will have a new place to shop for groceries soon. Gelson’s is slated to move into the Plaza de La Cañada shopping center in early 2014. The store will replace Vons, which closed last year. And there may be more changes soon, as the retail center has a new owner.

The center was bought for $35.9 million by Retail Opportunity Investments Corp. in December.

Housing

The city must pinpoint areas in the city where developers can build affordable housing units and homeless shelters in February.

La Cañada must allow the development under a state mandate. Officials can, however, control where developers build the 343 housing units over an eight-year period.

Officials have said they do not believe that developers would be very interested in building affordable housing units in La Cañada. But senior housing developers have eyed the city.

City staff have said that a senior housing complex would work for the city’s aging population who may need a smaller place but still want to remain in the city.

Dogs

The city’s Parks and Recreation Commission is expected to review a proposal in January by a group of residents to make an open area in the city accessible for dog owners who want to walk with their dogs sans leashes.

Residents started receiving warnings from the Pasadena Humane Society last year after they allowed their dogs to roam free in an Edison-owned property at the Cross Town Trail. They requested that the city allow a leash-free area for dogs.

Parcel tax

Voters in La Cañada will decide if they want to support a school district parcel tax measure on March 4.

The current tax measure, which expires this year, brings in about $900,000 a year to the high-performing La Cañada Unified School District. The new measure would allow for continued public support of the schools.

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