Friends of the Verdugos is dedicated to preserving the Verdugo Mountains in Los Angeles, Burbank and Glendale, California, as open space for recreational uses. It is a project of Advocates for the Environment, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.
- Canyon
Hills: We joined the Sierra
Club, Glendale-Crescenta VOICE,
FALCON, Canyon-Area Preservation and other organizations in opposing
the proposed Canyon Hills housing development. The project was approved
by the Los Angeles City Council on Oct. 19, 2005. While we wish that
the Council had decided not to approve the changes in the City's General
Plan and zoning for Canyon Hills, we feel that our campaign helped preserve
open space in the Verdugos by winning the following concessions from
the developer:
- No development in the area south of the I-210 freeway
- The western portion of the project will be donated to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, the largest outright donation of land they've ever received
- We are writing a Trail Guide to the Verdugo Mountains, which will contain complete descriptions of all the trails and fire roads in the Verdugos, for hikers and mountain bikers.
- The Sierra Club Angeles Chapter's GIS Committee has completed a map of the open space in the Verdugo Mountains (available at the committee's librery page). This has become the basis for a task force convened by L.A. City Councilmember Wendy Greuel, which is working to find ways to buy other open-space parcels in the Verdugos for preservation.
Materials of historical interest regarding the fight to preserve the Canyon Hills property from development are still online.
Contact information:
Friends
of the Verdugos
P.O.
Box 4242
Sunland, CA 91041
Dean Wallraff (818) 353-4268