New Beeline 13 Schedule

The Glendale Beeline Route 13 bus schedule has been changed to coincide better with the connecting schedule of Metro 201. The new timetable can be found here.

Thanks to canyon resident Angie Vukos' efforts, the city of Glendale has agreed to change the timetable for the Beeline into the canyon to coincide with the newly changed timetable for the Metro 201 line. Apparently the Metro 201 schedule was changed to improve the connection to the bell times for Virgil Jr. High School. Before the change, the bus would come by the school before the students were let out for the day forcing students needing to catch the bus to have to wait 40 minutes for the next bus to come by. When Metro changed the 201 schedule, it no longer coincided with the Beeline schedule for line 13 into the canyon.

Of course, Angie continues to try and get the Metro line 201 service back into the canyon as it has been, until recently, for the last 70 plus years. Her most recent letter to Congressman Schiff can be seen here. Thanks to Angie for all her efforts.

Annual Pancake Breakfast

The Glenoaks Canyon Annual Pancake Breakfast will be held on Saturday, September 26, 2009 from 8:00am - 11:00am at the Joe Bridges Clubhouse in Glenoaks Park.

Who doesn't like pancakes? And...you can't beat the price...FREE! Come to Glenoaks Park and join your neighbors for this fun and delicious annual event. See you all there.

Annual Membership Meeting

Annual GOCHA Meeting will be held on Wednesday, September 16, 2009 at 7:30pm at the Joe Bridges Clubhouse at Glenoaks Park.

Come join GOCHA for our annual meeting where we will discuss topics concerning Glenoaks Canyon. A representative from the Glendale Fire Department will also be there to discuss fire safety for our neighborhood and fill us in on the details of the August 4th fire in our canyon.

Proposed Development on Eagle Rock Ridge

By Gerry Rankin, GOCHA Board Member (reprinted from the Fall 2009 ECHO)

As early as last summer, articles about a proposal to build a restaurant-banquet hall and community center high upon the ridge between Glenoaks Canyon and Eagle Rock appeared in periodicals targeting Eagle Rock residents.  The massive development would be entirely within Los Angeles City limits but would be visible to anyone walking on the dirt fire road on the ridge.  On August 10, 2009, at a GOCHA business meeting, the association’s Board of Directors voted to oppose the project and to take steps to ensure that responsible city officials in both Glendale and Los Angeles were made aware of the Board’s misgivings about the project.

The developer, Hamlet Der Avanessian of Glendale, has met several times with city planners in both Los Angeles and Glendale.  In these meetings some details of his proposal have become apparent.  According to Hassan Haghani, Director of Planning for the City of Glendale, the proposed project includes a two-story, 28,475 square foot restaurant-banquet hall, a 6,584 square foot community center, and 288 parking spaces. Since the 134 Freeway would block entry from Eagle Rock, access to the development would be by a 900-foot road carved into the hillside at Mt. Carmel Drive in Glendale.  Mr. Avanessian has told Glendale City Planners that he would require Glendale to provide utility services, such as electricity, water, trash collection, and sewer.  In discussions with community groups in Eagle Rock, Mr. Avanessian has explained that the restaurant-banquet hall would operate seven days a week, fifteen hours a day, from 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 a.m.

GOCHA Board members have approached City Councilmen Dave Weaver and John Drayman regarding concerns about the proposed project.  Both Councilmen have indicated that they oppose it.  In fact, the Board has learned from City staff that all Glendale City Council Members have expressed serious reservations about the project.

Meanwhile, The Eagle Rock Association (TERA), an active community organization in Eagle Rock, has made extensive lobbying efforts in opposition to the project.  Mike Woodward, a member of TERA's Board of Directors, and Frank Parrello, Chairman of Planning, Preservation & Development for TERA, attended the GOCHA Board meeting of August 10.  They discussed reasons for TERA’s opposition to the project:  loss of wildlife habitat, heightened fire danger, increased noise level, late-night traffic congestion, and deterioration of the view now enjoyed by Eagle Rock residents.  In addition, they mentioned that a commercial development at the proposed location would likely encourage further development on the ridge.

Also attending the meeting of August 10 was Marc Sturdivant, President of VOICE, which has been active in efforts to save the Verdugo Hills from further development.   He advised that letters to City, State, and Federal representatives would be helpful in bringing pressure to bear against the development.  He said letters should be addressed to, among others, members of the California State Assembly and Senate who represent Eagle Rock and Glendale.

Hassan Haghani, Director of Planning for the City of Glendale, was the main speaker at the GOCHA Board meeting of August 10.  Mr. Haghani confirmed that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) and a zone change would be required before the project could begin.  He added that Mr. Avanessian had not yet paid the fees to the City of Los Angeles that would be required for these processes to begin.  Mr. Haghani said he agreed that the project appeared to involve many potential drawbacks.  In particular, he mentioned his concern about the impact on Glendale streets including Mt. Carmel Drive, Harvey Drive, and Holly Drive.  He said that the Los Angeles City Planning Department had been cooperative in sharing information with the Glendale Planning staff and that he had requested that Glendale be included in any EIR scoping meeting in the event an EIR is initiated.  Mr. Haghani estimated that an EIR for the project would take at least two years to complete.

The site of the proposed development is currently zoned for agricultural use.  Jimmy Liao, the case manager for the project at the Los Angles City Planning Department, has explained that a change in zoning to allow commercial use would not be considered by Los Angeles City until an EIR is completed and accepted by the City.  Hearings involving variances, permits, and design review would then need to be done, he said, leaving final disposition of the case several years in the future should Mr. Avanessian continue to pursue the project.

Mr. Haghani reported that while definitive plans had not been seen by Glendale Planners, the 900-foot driveway planned to access the project would probably begin on property within the City of Glendale.  He remarked that Glendale City would likely refuse to grant a zoning change if it were required for that property.

Contacts with Jimmy Liao have revealed that Mr. Avanessian has engaged in numerous meetings with City Planners and community groups with regard to the project but has repeatedly delayed paying the fees required by the City for the review process to begin.

Several persons present at the GOCHA Board meeting of August 10 noted that proposing a development that is bound to be offensive to a community is a common tactic of property owners who have land that is difficult to develop.  The motive for such an action is that a threat of this kind might induce the community to purchase the nearly worthless property, affording a profit to the developer.  While those present recognized that this scenario may not exist in the Avanessian project, some participants at the meeting questioned the seriousness of Avanessian’s plans, noting the pattern of delay along with extensive contacts with City officials and community groups.

We hope that everyone who has an opinion about this proposed development leave comments on the form below.

Glenoaks Canyon Annual Dog Parade a Big Success

An annual event that Glenoaks Canyon residents look forward to each spring is the Annual Dog Parade, otherwise known as the “Bow Wow Pow Wow.”   This fun filled, canine friendly event took place this year on Saturday, May 30th and was organized by Glenoaks Canyon’s Number One Couple: Mike and Jen Hoppert who have been in charge of the Dog Parade since 2004. Previously the event was organized by Glenoaks Canyon’s other Number One Couple: Sharon Lee and Don Rector.  Besides the Parade itself which was led by Officer McGruff, other highlights of the day included prizes for the Best Costume, Best Dog Trick and Fastest Time on the Obstacle Race.  The “Outstanding Community Member” Award was presented to GOCHA President, Joan Morris.   In attendance were the heroes of Glenoaks Canyon: the courageous Firefighters of Fire Station 25 and their Captain, JoAnne Davis.  They arrived in their beautiful red fire engine and let anyone interested climb aboard and take a look.  Mike Hoppert once commented that his and Jen’s aim in hosting this event was to make the event kid oriented and pet centered.  Once again, the Hopperts achieved their goal.  Thank you, Jen and Mike Hoppert, for all your hard work and enthusiasm which make the Bow Wow Pow Wow so much fun and so successful!

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Glenoaks Canyon Fire 2009 in Pictures

[singlepic id=20 w=320 h=240 float=left] Thanks to several of our canyon residents for providing some stunning photos of the fire and the efforts of our local firemen and women. I hope this helps archive and document the fire that threatened the homes in our canyon on August 4, 2009. Glenoaks Canyon resident and GOCHA board member, Paul Chamberlain also wrote a nice piece that was published in the Glendale News/Press. You can read it here.

In addition to the photos here, there are some interesting videos that have been posted on Youtube. Be sure to click "more" to see the full post.

You can see here what appears to be a video shot by a driver on the 134 freeway as the fire broke out.

This video has some interesting footage shot from Eagle Rock.

Thank you to Glenoaks Canyon photographers Ted Kenney, Wendy Moore, Mitchell Rubinstein, Teresa Woo-Murray and Eileen Young for contributing their photos.

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Vehicle Burglaries Reported in Canyon

In the past few days there has been a rash of vehicle burglaries in the area below the entrance of Glenoaks Canyon: 1 in the 1600 Block of Royal, 2 in the 500 Block of Woodbury Rd, 2 in the 1900 Block of Eden Ave and 1 in the 1500 Block of East Glenoaks.  A witness in one of the burglaries described the suspect vehicle as a dark blue older model Volkswagen GTI further described as having tinted windows and a “racing type” exhaust system.  The witness stated he has seen the GTI in the area the past few nights and fears they are casing the neighborhood. Please share this information with your members.  If they see suspicious activities in their neighborhood please have them call 911.

Detective Barba is handling these cases and can be reached at (818) 548-3127

Scary day in Glenoaks Canyon

August 4th, 2009 was certainly a scary day for all of us in Glenoaks Canyon. After getting a call at work from my wife that our canyon was on fire and having to hike up to our house from Harvey, I thought the worst. Thanks to all the brave firefighters and helicopter pilots that fought the blaze, all our homes are safe. I will post more photos and add more to this post later. I saw a lot of canyon residents with cameras. If you have any photos from yesterday, please email them to me (mitchellr3@gmail.com) so that we can create a visual archive of this event.

Again, on behalf of GOCHA, we are so thankful that everyone is safe and that no homes were destroyed in the fire.

Shakespeare in the Park

On Thursday, July 30th at 7:00 PM, Shakespeare by the Sea will be performing at Glenoaks Park for the third year in a row.  This year's performance will be "Love's Labour's Lost".  As in previous years, seating is on the lawn so please bring folding chairs or blankets to sit on.  Admission is free.  Refreshments (candy, chips, snacks, etc) will be available for sale.  Participants are invited to bring their own food and drink as well.

Here is the link to the company's website and Frequently Asked Questions page if you would like additional information:

http://www.shakespearebythesea.org/faq.html

The description of the play can be found here.

Hope to see you there.

Mountain Lion Sighting

This week, a mountain lion was spotted in our canyon. A canyon resident reported seeing a mountain lion on the ridge above Hollister Terrace near Elvina on Monday. If you have also seen the lion, please add your sighting to the comments of this post. As a reminder, here is some information regarding mountain lions pulled from the Glendale Police department.

Mountain lions are generally described as tawny colored with black-tipped ears and tail. Adult males may be 8 feet long from nose to end of tail and generally weigh between 130 and 150 pounds. Adult females can be 7 feet long and weigh between 65 and 90 pounds.

If You Encounter a Mountain Lion: •    Do not hike or bike alone (go in groups, with adults supervising children) •    Keep children close (keep children within your sight at all times) •    Do not approach a lion, they want to avoid a confrontation •    Do not run from a lion (make eye contact, pick up children without bending down) •    Do not crouch down or bend over •    Do all you can to appear larger (raise your arms, open your jacket, wave arms slowly, talk loudly) •    Fight back if attacked (throw rocks, use sticks, remain standing)

For additional information, please contact the Glendale Park Rangers at (818) 334-9042. Also, keep your pets indoors at night if possible. Please keep me posted on any close encounters.