My City Council has no standing to take up agenda time on land-use
decisions in another city. The logic that hikers might be able to see
the development, in another city, from the top of the Verdugo
Mountains is very tenuous. Using that logic, every piece of private
property that can be seen from the top of the mountains should be
rendered unusable by the owners.
The Sierra Club has turned into an extremist organization that
intentionally interferes with private property rights. Humans have
become the enemy. The Canyon Hills project owners have spent years
and millions of dollars complying with the recently adopted San
Gabriel/Verdugo Mountains Scenic Preservation Specific Plan. They
have conducted numerous meetings with local community groups and made
major modifications to the plans in response to community input.
Instead of developing the entire 880-acre site, which they could do,
they are proposing a plan that minimizes environmental impacts and
maximizes public open space.
If there is any reason that the Burbank City Council should take a
look at this project, it is because it is an excellent example of how
to balance the need for housing with the environmental impacts. The
Stough Canyon hiking trails already connect over the hills to
property owned by the Santa Monica Mountain Conservancy. This project
does not change that. In fact, it voluntarily removes 700 acres of
land from future development at no cost to the public.
STEVEN FORTNER
Burbank
