News of the Arroyo
Title: | Compromise reached on trail |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2003-11-29 |
Summary: | November 29, 2003 - The Altadena Crest Trail will go ahead with a new route after a developer blocked the previous plan. |
Author: | Becky Oskin |
Publication: | Pasadena Star News |
Content: | New hiking route set for Altadena site ALTADENA -- In response to complaints about a construction project along the Altadena Crest Trail, county officials have reached a compromise with the developer to replace the popular hiking route with a new 12-foot-wide trail surrounded by native plants. A concurrent county investigation into the project, which raised hopes the building could be canceled because county regulations were violated during the permitting process, found that \"everything appears in order,\' said Jan Takata of the county\'s Chief Administrative Office. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion in June allowing developer Brian Green, who lives in Diamond Bar, to relocate the Altadena Crest Trail and grade a housing pad on top of the original trail route. The decision vacated the county\'s easement for the historic trail. When construction began in October, many Altadena residents responded with outrage that the trail was lost, peppering the county with e-mails and phone calls. County inspectors shut down construction until a new trail plan was developed. The revised plan, presented at a meeting of the Altadena Crest Trail Restoration Working Group Tuesday night, still doesn\'t satisfy some Altadena residents. Lori Paul, who lives near the trail\'s Sunset Ridge route, said she would rather see the original trail restored and no house built there. The trail group\'s goal is to link the Arroyo Seco to Eaton Canyon via the Altadena Crest Trail, which now exists only in fragments. Sameer Etman, a property owner who is working with the group to build a trail leg across his Rubio Canyon land, said the county\'s plan is an acceptable, though not aesthetic, replacement. \"I wish this could be stopped, but it can\'t. We need to concentrate on making sure this doesn\'t happen in the future,\' Etman said. Trail Group members questioned Takata on the details, asking for restrictions on caring for the trail and nearby plants. \"If the (plant) natives are allowed to die, what recourse will we have?\' said Nancy Steele. The design calls for stairsteps up the steep hillside north of a private stretch of Devonwood Drive. Plants will go in a 10- foot road-widening easement at the bottom of the slope. Four- foot retaining walls will bound each side of the 12-foot-wide trail. The width is mandated by the county for trails used by hikers, bikers and equestrians. A railing will protect horses from falling off the trail the county says any trails with a drop-off higher than three feet must have guard rails. Green said he was frustrated by the planning process, adding that the revisions added three months in construction time and cost him a construction loan. Widening the trail meant cutting 1,000 square feet from the house. \"We went through a six-month approval process. Why didn\'t we do this a year ago?\' Green said Friday. \"We\'ve agreed to everything they wanted,\' he said. Work on the new trail must be finished before Green can build the house, Takata said. \"The trail comes first,\' Takata said. Green must also post a tentative construction schedule and maintain trail access during building, he said. The new trail easement will be recorded with the county. -- Becky Oskin can be reached at (626) 578-6300, Ext. 4451, or by e-mail at becky.oskin@sgvn.com. |
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