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CANYON BACK ALLIANCE an IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization
Website Last Updated Website Operator: Tom
Freeman |
February
24, 2011 – Metro
Drops Plan To Realign Mulholland Bridge. Metro has announced that it has abandoned
its proposal to realign Mulholland. Metro has done the right thing
by returning to the original, EIR-approved bridge. The realignment would have created a
permanent detour, dividing Mulholland into two, non-continuous roads, forever
degrading the scenic and recreational amenities of Mulholland Drive, in
exchange for dubious short-term traffic benefits. Click
here for Daily News Story. February 22, 2011 -- The Mulholland Design
Review Board Stands Behind The Mulholland Specific Plan The Mulholland
Scenic Parkway Specific Plan. Members of the
general public, environmentalists and local government officials fought for
decades to protect the scenic treasure that is Mulholland Drive – the great
scenic road along the crest of the Santa Monica Mountains, which was
conceived in 1913 and built in 1922. The tireless efforts of these
advocates culminated in the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan, which
was enacted almost 20 years ago. The
Scenic Plan begins with the recognition that Mulholland Drive “makes
available to all people spectacular mountain, ocean and city views,
and scenic and recreational opportunities from the Hollywood Freeway to the
westerly Los Angeles City-County boundary line.” By passing the Specific
Plan, the City expressly recognized that Mulholland’s “amenities and
resources are valuable to the city as a whole, and should be protected
and enhanced by means of land use and design controls tailored to the
physical character of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway and Santa Monica
Mountains.” The Proposed
Mulholland Realignment. That historic legacy is now
being threatened by a
proposal that violates virtually every rule, policy, and guideline in the
Specific Plan. The project would disrupt Mulholland’s continuous
alignment. The proposed Mulholland Bridge
Realignment Project would degrade the aesthetic and recreational quality of
the Mulholland Scenic Parkway by disrupting the continuous ridgeline
alignment of Mulholland Drive. Metro’s plan calls for the east end of
the Mulholland Bridge to connect with Skirball Center Drive instead of
Mulholland Drive, at the site of an engineered “T” intersection that would
require a left-turn for eventual reentry onto Mulholland. This realignment
would also be dangerous, especially for cyclists, who would have to maneuver
through a signalized intersection, traversing six lanes of traffic just to
get to Skirball Center Drive before reaching the continuation of
Mulholland Drive, which would greatly increase the safety risks. This
detour off continuous Mulholland violates the Specific Plan goal of
preserving Mulholland Drive as a continuous, “low-intensity, low-volume,
slow-speed, parkway-type setting.” The project would degrade the scenic views. The project would likewise degrade the
scenic quality of Mulholland Drive along the Bridge by relocating the east
end of the Bridge approximately 200-400 feet to the south, changing the angle
of the bridge vis-à-vis the I-405, reducing the angle of incline, and
lowering the height of the bridge. This would significantly impair the
panoramic views of the San Fernando Valley and outlying mountains. The
existing scenic view would be replaced with a straight-on eastbound view of
massive concrete retaining walls and from all other sides by a close-up view
of traffic on the 405 passing underneath a shortened bridge. The Design Review Board. Metro, however,
cannot unilaterally realign Mulholland. The City of Los Angeles must
approve this proposal. The first step was a public hearing on February
17, 2011, before the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Design Review Board, an
advisory agency whose recommendations are not binding on the City. The Board Supports The Specific Plan
Protections. The Board,
however, was not persuaded, nor was it intimidated by those who implied that
the project was a fait accompli. Members of the Board
emphasized that its obligation in applying the Mulholland Specific Plan is to
protect a much broader constituency than just the local institutions and
those who commute through the area. The Board’s mandate is to protect
the public resources of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway for the recreational
and aesthetic enjoyment of all members of the public, including those who
drive, cycle, jog and hike along the scenic spine of the Santa Monica
Mountains. The Board-imposed conditions. The Board then unanimously passed a motion
to recommend approval of the proposed realignment, but only if Metro returns
with a revised proposal that includes (1) the presentation of a new plan for
a continuous roadway, without the engineered “T” intersection; (2) the preparation
of new architectural design plans for an extraordinary bridge in keeping with
Mulholland’s municipal designation as a scenic parkway; (3) the presentation
of a written document explaining how Metro will resolve the concerns raised
in letters by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, Canyon Back Alliance
and Brentwood Residents Coalition, and the Bel Air Skycrest Property Owners’ Association
(the residential community closest to the project to the west), explaining
how the project’s significant impacts will be mitigated; and (4) the
submission of all plans required under the Specific Plan, including elements
such as irrigation, grading, landscaping, and retaining walls. Canyon Back Supports The
Board’s Determination. The Board’s motion establishes a set of
reasonable guidelines that comply with the Specific Plan and respect the
integrity of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway. Metro now has the
opportunity to make this project work for everyone -- without simply
sacrificing the Mulholland public resource to the traffic engineers. February 17, 2011
– Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, expressing
“substantial concern” that the CalTrans/Metro proposal to realign Mulholland
and widen Skirball Center Drive would cause significant adverse environmental
impacts, asks for further environmental review: “These impacts are a result
of the design-build team’s view of this project as solely an engineering
challenge, rather than realizing that the realignment, and resulting
discontinuity, of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway has a significant impact on
cultural, aesthetic, and biological resources. Precisely because these impacts are outside
the team’s expertise, additional study is warranted as well as the
opportunity for other agencies and members of the public to weigh in with
possible mitigation measures.”
February 16, 2011
– CalTrans turns CEQA on its head by contending
that its 2008 environmental review of the proposed reconstruction of
Mulholland Bridge – without relocating the bridge off the existing
Mulholland Drive alignment – somehow allows it to now move the
bridge off the historic Mulholland Drive alignment, because, according
to CalTrans, the adverse impacts of the newly-proposed realignment
were not identified as potentially adverse impacts of the 2008
reconstruction. In doing so, CalTrans
remains oblivious to the fact that the proposed Mulholland realignment would
degrade the Mulholland Scenic Parkway forever. February 16, 2011
– CalTrans/Metro Plan To Degrade Mulholland
Scenic Parkway & Core Trail Metro and CalTrans are trying to ram through the system a
project to realign the Mulholland Bridge and widen Skirball Center
Drive. In this
letter, Canyon Back Alliance and Brentwood Residents Coalition strongly
oppose the project as a gross violation of CEQA, which disregards virtually
every policy and goal of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan. February 15, 2011
– Bel Air Skycrest Property Owners’ Assoc., the closest residential
community to the west of the Mulholland Bridge, objects to
the Mulholland Bridge Realignment as an effort to transform scenic, historic
Mulholland Drive from a “low-speed, low-intensity drive” into a major “feeder
street” for the institutions on Mulholland and a major cut-through to the 405
freeway, in violation of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway Specific Plan’s
policies, objectives and guidelines. February 11, 2011 – Federation of
Hillside and Canyon Associations opposes Mulholland
Bridge Realignment because CalTrans/Metro has failed to consider the
potential degradation of the Mulholland Scenic Parkway, a treasure of the
Santa Monica Mountains, asks for a full EIR.
The Riordan
Trail The Mount
St. Mary’s Trail is now being realigned and has been renamed the “Nancy &
Dick Riordan Trail.” The trail will be completed in,
approximately, November 2008.
Until then, the Trail will be closed
to the public due to construction hazards. The Riordan Trail, however, has already
been officially dedicated by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and half
of the new trail has been constructed.
Trail Dedication Ceremony Canyon Back
Alliance Celebrates Dedication Of New Public Trail On April
19, 2007, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy formally dedicated a
beautiful new trail in the Santa Monica Mountains – the Nancy & Dick Riordan Trail.
This new trail begins behind Mount St. Mary’s College in Brentwood,
north of Bundy Ave., and connects with Canyonback Trail (also known as
“Kenter Trail”), south of the Mountaingate development.
One of many ocean views from the
Riordan Trail The
Riordan Trail replaces the old Mount St. Mary’s Fire Road Trail. The Mount St. Mary’s Trail had been enjoyed
by the public for a broad array of recreational uses for more than 50
years. But the trail’s natural beauty
had been significantly degraded by private development in the Mountaingate
area beginning in the 1980s and continuing since then. By August 2005, the trail had been
completely closed to the public by a developer. Canyon
Back Alliance, with the assistance of its many supporters, fought this
public-trail closure in court and before municipal planners. As Canyon Back Alliance was preparing for a
major hearing that we expected would restore public access to the Mount St.
Mary’s Trail – by opening access to the public streets that had been built
and gated on the trail’s path in Mountaingate – Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s
Office intervened.
Tom Freeman and Wendy-Sue Rosen
(Canyon Back Alliance), Eric Edmunds (Save Our Mnts., Inc.), Frans Bigelow
(Castle & Cooke) and Paul Edelman (Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy) Rosendahl,
who had publicly supported our efforts, had previously asked Norman Kulla,
his District Director and Special Counsel, to try and mediate a
resolution. But the slow-moving
mediation process, which appeared unlikely to resolve the dispute, gained
unexpected momentum when former Los Angeles Mayor Dick Riordan entered the
process. Mayor
Riordan and his wife, child-advocate Nancy Daly Riordan, had been hiking
along the Mount St. Mary’s Trail in April 2006 when they came upon a locked
gate and fence – topped with concertina wire.
Just a few weeks earlier, the LA Times described the legal dispute and
photographed Canyon Back Alliance’s lawyers at the same gate.
Robert Garcia, The City Project [www.cityprojectca.org], and Tom Freeman, Bird Marella, at the Gate, 2006 While the
concertina-wire topped fence might have stopped other, less hardy trekkers,
it did not stop the Riordans, who proceeded to hike down the ravine then back
up the steep mountain, around the fence.
They were shocked that a developer had been allowed to gate-off public
access to a public trail they had enjoyed for many years. The next day Mayor Riordan contacted Robert
Garcia, formerly of the Center for Law in the Public Interest, now Executive
Director and Counsel for “The City Project” [www.cityprojectca.org], Tom Freeman
of Canyon Back Alliance and the Bird Marella law firm, and Councilman Bill
Rosendahl to find out how he could help restore public access. Councilman
Rosendahl asked Riordan to work with Norman Kulla in his attempt to mediate
the dispute. Mayor Riordan’s goal was
to create a new trail running outside the gated communities, as Canyon Back
Alliance, Save Our Mountains, Inc., and the Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy suggested. Riordan brought
together geologists, engineers, developer Castle & Cooke, Canyon Back
Alliance, Save Our Mountains, Inc., and the Conservancy to hammer out a
solution. It was not easy – but it
worked. Out of this effort was born
the new trail.
Nancy Riordan’s
triumphant return to the open Gate, with Councilman Rosendahl and Wendy-Sue
Rosen On April
19, 2007, almost exactly one year after the Riordans first encountered the
locked gate, they were honored at the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy dedication
ceremony for the new trail. Paying
tribute to the Riordans were Los Angeles City Council Members Bill Rosendahl
and Eric Garcetti, Liz Cheadle, Chair of the Santa Monica Mountains
Conservancy, Laura Plotkin, State Senator Sheila Kuehl’s District Director,
and others.
Nancy Daly Riordan and Mayor Richard
Riordan at the Trail Dedication The
Riordan Trail will not only restore the historic link between Mount St.
Mary’s College and Canyonback Trail – it will create a trail route that far
surpasses the old trail in unspoiled, natural beauty. While the old trail passed through a public
street within the condo-lined streets of the Stoney Hill residential enclave
in Mountaingate, the new trail rides the upper rim of the mountains,
providing remarkable panoramic views of the City and Ocean, before descending
into pristine Bundy Canyon – providing the first and only public access to
this lush area. The trail will pass
through approximately 300 acres of newly-dedicated Open Space property.
The Trail winds through Bundy Canyon Eric Edmunds tests the new trail The trail is being designed and built by the Mountains
Recreation Conservation Authority, with the assistance of Canyon Back
Alliance Board Member Desmond McDonald.
They have already completed approximately 1.6 miles of the trail,
which is expected to run about 2.6 miles.
The trail cannot be completed, however, until further work is done by
the developer, Castle & Cooke, which is likely to take another 18
months. Until then, the trail will be
inaccessible due to the presence of construction hazards.
Canyon Back
Alliance Board Members Desmond McDonald and Wendy-Sue Rosen March 5, 2007: Canyon Back Alliance co-founder and Board Member Wendy-Sue Rosen was named “Woman of the Year” for the 42nd Assembly District by State Assemblyman Mike Feuer. Woman of the Year Press Release.
Assemblyman Mike Feuer names Wendy-Sue Rosen “Woman of the Year.” December 29, 2006: The City of Los Angeles has formally requested that the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy name the scenic trail that will be constructed to connect the MSM Trail to the Canyonback Trail as the “Nancy and Dick Riordan Trail.” The City has requested that the trail be so designated in recognition of Mayor Riordan’s efforts to settle the dispute and “the lifelong efforts of Nancy and Dick Riordan to public service and improving community life.” Canyon Back Alliance enthusiastically supports this request. October 13, 2006: Canyonback and MSM Trail Easements Recorded – forever protecting public access to these historic trails. The realignment of Canyonback Trail is depicted in Exhibits B and D to the Canyonback Trail Easement in relation to single-family residences to be constructed on Lot Nos. 23-29. Note that Lot No. 31, depicted (in part)on Exhibit B, is subject to the simultaneously-recorded Open Space Easement. The Mt. St. Mary’s Trail will be connected to Canyonback Trail via a natural, scenic trail that is being constructed to avoid existing and future development along Stoney Hill Road, which is the original alignment of the MSM Trail. The new trail alignment is depicted as “Scenic Trail Alignment” on Exhibits B and D to the MSM Trail Easement. Note here too that Lot Nos. 31 and 32, through which the new trail will pass, is subject to the Open Space Easement. The Open Space Easement will forever protect the natural scenic beauty of the Canyonback and MSM trails. Lot Nos. 30-32, depicted on Exhibit B to the Open Space Easement, surround the trails and cannot be developed in the future. September 2006: Brentwood News feature article “Mountain Trail Dispute Resolved,” by Billy Goulston, describing settlement preserving open public access on Canyonback and Mt. St. Mary’s trails. Canyonback
and Mt. St. Mary’s Trails Saved! On August 2, 2006,
the City of Los Angeles approved the
Mountaingate Development Project – as modified by the settlement reached last
month. The City approved the revised plans, which will
forever protect public access on the public trails. (1) The Mt. St. Mary’s Trail will survive – and it will be better
than before because it will completely bypass the Stoney Hill residential
enclave, passing through a natural canyon environment instead; and (2) The Canyonback Trail will be wholly outside the planned residential
enclave, hewing to the western-most alignment along Canyonback Ridge, with
scenic views of the unspoiled hillsides. Canyon Back Alliance is
greatly indebted to the Brentwood Hills
Homeowners Association and the Upper Mandeville
Canyon Property Owners Association for bearing the
out-of-pocket costs necessary to fight this battle. July 27, 2006 -- Canyonback
and Mt. St. Mary’s Trails To Be Saved!: Canyon Back Alliance is
pleased to announce that the City of Los Angeles' Planning and Land Use
Management Committee unanimously (3-0) approved the Mountaingate Development
Project, as modified by the agreement to provide unobstructed public
recreational use of the Canyonback and Mt. St. Mary's
trails. Councilman Bill Rosendahl made a special appearance at the
PLUM Hearing to support this remarkable resolution. Canyon Back
Alliance, the Center for Law in the Public Interest, the
Concerned Off-Road Bicyclists Association, and trail supporters spoke in
favor of the revised plan and praised those who made
this resolution possible, especially Councilman Rosendahl and his
Deputy Norman Kulla, former Mayor Richard Riordan, Joe Edmiston and Paul
Edelman of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, developer Castle
& Cooke, and the Stoney Hill community in Mountaingate . The
City Council is expected to provide final project approval next
week. And thank you for your
support. From the Los Angeles
Times Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mountain26jul26,1,817594.story?coll=la-headlines-california Developers and Hikers Settle Access Dispute By Jessica Garrison,
Times Staff Writer July 26, 2006 -- A long fight over multimillion-dollar homes
blocking access to hiking trails in the Santa Monica Mountains was resolved
with a compromise Tuesday. Under a deal approved
by the Los Angeles City Council's planning committee, developer Castle &
Cooke has agreed to build a trail around its new Stoney Hill neighborhood,
according to city officials. For the past year, Canyon Back Alliance, joined
by hundreds of supporters, has objected to the Mountaingate development
project’s adverse impact on recreational use of the Canyonback and Mt. St.
Mary’s trails. Recently, however,
Councilman Bill Rosendahl’s Office, through the tireless efforts of Norman
Kulla, brought the once-feuding parties together in order to achieve a
remarkable resolution. For the past two weeks, Canyon Back Alliance has
been working with Mountaingate developer Castle & Cooke, the City of Los
Angeles, the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and representatives of the
Stoney Hill community in Mountaingate in a joint effort to protect public
recreational use of the Canyonback and Mt. St. Mary’s trails. We are thrilled to announce that
these efforts have succeeded far beyond our expectations. While the specifics are still being worked
out, the parties have reached agreement on the critical terms: (1) The Mt. St. Mary’s Trail will survive – and it will be better
than before because it will bypass the Stoney Hill neighborhood completely;
and (2) The Canyonback Trail will be wholly outside the planned residential enclave,
hewing to the western-most alignment along Canyonback Ridge, with scenic
views of the unspoiled hillsides. Full details will be finalized by, and presented
during, the July 25 PLUM Hearing. We encourage everyone to attend this meeting
to show their support.
L.A.
Times Article – May 11, 2006
Canyon Back Alliance Fights Back! Canyon Back Alliance Joins Forces With Save Our Mountains, Inc. To Restore
The Mt. St. Mary’s Trail. May 8, 2006 – Canyon
Back Alliance & Save Our Mountains, Inc. (“SOMI”) filed suit today
against developer Castle & Cooke and others to restore public access
along the historic Mt. St. Mary’s Trail, which the developer has severed from
Canyonback Trail and the Big Wild network of public trails throughout the
Santa Monica Mountains. Canyon Back
Alliance was joined by SOMI – which was founded in 1992 in a successful
effort to oppose a developer’s attempt to obstruct the Westridge Trail,
making possible the subsequent dedication of that trail as the
Westridge-Canyon Back Wilderness Park.
Click
here to see Complaint.
Mt. St.
Mary’s Trail Canyon Back Alliance
Files Lawsuit Against City of LA Seeking To Restore Public Access Between Mt.
St. Mary’s Trail And Canyonback & Big Wild Trails Network! Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 23, 2006 --
Canyon Back Alliance
(www.canyonback.org) filed a lawsuit yesterday against the City of Los
Angeles, seeking a court order requiring the City to compel removal of the
gates and fences that prevent the public from accessing Stoney Hill Road, a
public street in the Mountaingate community in Brentwood. Complaint filed in Canyon Back Alliance v. City of Los Angeles Click here for more information about Stoney Hill Gate |
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