Canyon Hills Project to be Explained by Developer October 22Hello All, If you are interested in learning more about the Whitebird Canyon Hills development project directly from the developer’s own public relations people, you are invited to attend their open house: Wednesday, October 22, 2003
Mt. Gleason Middle School Auditorium
10965 Mt. Gleason Road, Sunland, CA
6:30PM to 8:30PM And check out their web site (http://www.canyonhills.info), where the “Canyon Hills Team” can keep you informed of their project and its “benefits”, which includes the building of 280 homes, preserving nearly 700 acres of open space, and a 3-acre equestrian park. I’m not kidding, in their postcard they sent out to over 10,000 residents and on their web site, these are the three bullet points featured for the October 22 public relations meeting. Please be cautious when you go to their web site. You might get hypnotized by the fake photo showing how the homes manage to stay off the ridges, how the homes tuck neatly into their nearly 900 acre project site while they maximize the protection of hillsides by clustering their homes into less than 200 acres, how 81% of the oak trees will be preserved (and 19% mitigated away by heavy planting of acorns – I’m not kidding, they propose to plant acorns in place of dozens of trees they’ll be destroying!). You’ll also see a statement from the developer that is reflected in the Draft Environmental Impact Report that says, “The project is in full compliance with the draft San Gabriel/Verdugo Mountains Scenic Preservation Specific Plan conceptually approved by the Los Angeles City Council in September 2002.” I guarantee you that this statement is not true – how can it be true when they are requesting variances from zoning ordinances, the Scenic Preservation Specific Plan, the Community Plan, and the General Plan to be allowed to build their development? I trust that you, dear friends, won’t be fooled by public relations stunts like this open house or their web site, but what about the tens of thousands of your neighbors who don’t receive alternative information like you find in these bulletins and the occasional CAP Views newsletter? You need to spread the word to your neighbors that there are places to go to get the real information about the impacts of this, the largest development to hit our area in decades; and there are people who want to be involved in a meaningful dialog about what this means to our lives, and the lives of our unique flora and fauna, here in the foothills. Join your local neighborhood councils (www.FoothillTrails.org and www.SunlandTujunga.org), your homeowners groups, your community associations and get involved in this issue. We have until December 31, 2003 to comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for the Canyon Hills project – your voice is important, and it will be heard if you join with your neighbors. Here’s some more information, courtesy of Michele Stone, one of many volunteers helping to get the word out about this project: - The Canyon Hills Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was released October 2, 2003. Case No: ENV-2002-2481-EIR - The Draft EIR is posted on LA City Planning's website at: http://lacity.org/PLN/ and CD-ROMs will be available for $7.50 each from the Planning Department. There also will be paper copies for review at local LA City libraries, City Hall and the Municipal Buildings in Tujunga and Van Nuys. - If you don't receive a notice about the Draft EIR and want to get a copy, please contact LA City Planning: Maya Zaitzevsky at 213-978-1355. - The public comment period for this EIR will be 90 days, ending on December 31, 2003. - Councilmember Wendy Greuel is working to have a public EIR information meeting that will help provide information on the EIR process. It may be scheduled in November and we'll pass along details about this meeting when they are known. The Canyon Hills Draft EIR is a long, complicated and technical document, however it's important for as many community stakeholders who are interested to respond to it. The EIR process is a key component of CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act), and is the public's opportunity to have a real and powerful impact on public agency decision-making. This is our chance to have our concerns heard! The Planning Department must incorporate community input into the Final Environmental Impact Report. During the Draft EIR period the Planning Department will accept any and all written public comments and will respond to every one of them in detail in the Final EIR. However the main purpose of commenting on a DEIR is to share expertise, check for accuracy and omissions, voice public concerns and provide counter proposals on the Draft EIR document. When commenting on a DEIR it is most useful to be as clear and factual as possible to be effective. Vague and generalized public comment and criticism will be noted, but likely will not have an impact on recommendations regarding the Final EIR. For example, comments like "I've lived here for 20 years and this development will ruin my view" or "This project is great and will increase my property values" will be included in the FEIR but are considered out of the scope of CEQA Guidelines. It is more productive to respond to specific issues raised, omitted or inadequately covered in the DEIR. If you are interested in commenting on the Canyon Hills DEIR and want additional information please attend your next area Neighborhood Council or Homeowner's Association meetings. More updates will be provided by Canyon Area Preservation (CAPViews@comcast.net) and other local community groups. If you need more information, please contact me. Thank you,
Michele Stone
818-353-2422
micheledale@earthlink.net Steve Crouch
CAP Views Editor
Canyon Area Preservation
CAPViews@comcast.net |
