News of the Arroyo
Title: | Millard Canyon Trails Are Focus Of Fiery Face-Off |
Subtitle: | |
Date: | 2005-09-06 |
Summary: | September 6, 2005 - Subtitle: "Environmentalists, Homeowners Debate Use Of Trails" Tv station KNBC offers this account of the Millard Canyon trail showdown. |
Author: | Staff |
Publication: | NBC 4 |
Content: | LOS ANGELES -- It is beautiful property worth fighting for, but now a local area of lush trails is at the center of a tug of war. Millard Canyon in Altadena, a pristine piece of nature on the edge of the Angeles National Forest is the focus of a fiery face-off between environmentalists and nearby homeowners. On one side there is Paul Ayers, attorney and professional trailblazer. On the other is June Kogill, archivist for the Lavinia Homeowners Association. \"It\'s beautiful property and it\'s worth fighting for,\" Kogill said. That\'s one thing both sides agree on. NBC4\'s Kelly Mack reports that the trouble begins with the deeds. \"Our deeds cover half of the canyon as to multiple deeds running down into the arroyo,\" Kogill said. The homeowners, citing property rights, want to keep the area, which they own, from being used as a public trail system, even though Ayers claims it\'s been just that for the past 5,000 years. \"Native Americans used it to get from the Los Angeles basin over to the desert and then over the mountains,\" Ayers said. Ayers and the County Of Los Angeles are suing to ensure public access, which they say was guaranteed by the original developers. Not so say the homeowners. \"Our deeds all say not for the use of the general public,\" Kogill said. The homeowners complained that new hikers would bring new fire hazards. \"That\'s an argument to close every recreational area that has a potential of any kind of disaster,\" Ayers said. The homeowners also insist there are already plenty of public trails to the Angeles National Forest. But for Ayers that is not enough. He says that even if there are other ways into the park, this route is too special to be closed to the public. \"To shut down Millard, you might as well shut out the people from the church. It is a beautiful, lush, riparian environment. We don\'t have enough places like that in California,\" Ayers said. Ayers says he is willing to compromise by building trails that no homeowner will see, but Cogill insists the stakes are too high to be bargained away. \"The core of this issue is you must be able to control access to your property. I don\'t understand why I\'d have to come to the table under any circumstances,\" Cogill said |
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