New San Rafael Hills Plan Is Called Less Intrusive

An environmental impact report on a proposed 596-unit housing development in the San Rafael Hills in Glendale concludes that its adverse effects would be significantly less than other controversial plans proposed for the site.

The report found that the latest plan would require less grading in the hillsides than many other projects already approved by the city.

If approved, the plan would be the largest ever undertaken in the hillsides of Glendale. It calls for 596 single-family homes, duplexes and fourplexes clustered on about one-third of a 316-acre site in the hills between the Glendale Freeway and Chevy Chase Drive. About 65% of the site would be preserved as open space.

The three-pound impact report, submitted to the city this week in draft form, concludes that many adverse effects of earlier proposals are significantly reduced.

Even Homeowners Approve Even homeowners, who have opposed development of the hills for 20 years, have indicated they favor the current proposal because it would have fewer adverse effects than the alternatives.

Developers had originally proposed to build 792 units on about 150 acres of the site and extend Mountain Street across a major ridge line from the Glendale Freeway to Chevy Chase Drive.

The new plan would restrict development to 110 acres of the site and would not extend roadways into any existing neighborhoods. At the city’s request, the developers in December again changed plans, reducing the size of a planned cut in the hillside.

The proposal would include 136 single family homes, 316 duplex units and 148 two- to four-unit townhomes.

The latest alternative was submitted to the city last May by the Baldwin Co. of Irvine after two other proposals for subdividing a large part of the site drew widespread community opposition. Developer James Baldwin said the proposal makes major concessions.

Baldwin has since backed out as the developer but approval is still being sought by the property owners, R.R. Hensler, S. T. MacDonald and MacDonald and Sons.

The Glendale City Council on Tuesday set a joint public hearing on the proposed development before the council and Environmental and Planning Board for Feb. 28. The council will conduct a separate public hearing on March 28.

Planning Director Gerald J. Jamriska said summary information on the report has been mailed to about 600 neighboring property owners. Homeowners have until March 4 to submit written comments to the city.

The report, prepared by EDAW, Inc. of Irvine, concluded that the proposed development would have significant adverse effects because of loss of open space, short-term grading hazards, loss of natural wildlife habitat, plants and trees, and visual impact.

However, the report said the plan “is significantly less impacting on visual quality than previous proposals and involves less grading per unit and per acre than many already approved hillside subdivisions in Glendale.”

It also found that the reduction in the number of proposed housing units “represents a significant down-scaling from previous submittals.”