By Mary O’KEEFE

On Thursday, Nov. 6 the Crescenta Valley Town Council Land Use Committee (CVTC LUC) held a meeting regarding the proposed development at the northwest corner of Briggs Avenue and Foothill Boulevard.

The presentation began with the developer/owner of the property, Abode Communities, sharing a brief rundown of what is being proposed: a five-story, 80-unit building of affordable rental housing. Of these apartments, 25 will be set aside for transition-aged youth (TAY), 18 to 24 years old; one will be set aside for an on-site manager. The development will have 80 parking spaces.

The presentation continued with the architect describing how his firm took the public’s concerns into consideration about the design of a previously proposed development. These concerns included moving the building farther back from the street, adding a fire lane behind the complex and using river rock to accommodate the community’s design plans. 

He explained how his firm is partnering with Upward Bound House to work with TAY and shared a timeline of estimated permitting, construction and completion of the project. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2027 and completed in 2029. 

A panel discussion ensued, which included representatives from Abode, Upward Bound, Los Angeles County Public Works, LA County Regional Planning and the fire department. 

Chris Kilpatrick with the CVTC and LUC led the meeting, opening it to questions – and the community was off and running. 

There were over 140 people at the meeting, which was not only standing room inside but people were also in the La Crescenta Library community room parking lot. It is important to note that not one person in the audience voiced approval of this project. 

There were a variety of concerns voiced including infrastructure, traffic and fire zone issues. Many who voiced concerns through their questions asked about the evacuation corridor from Briggs Terrace. Eaton Fire is still in the memory of residents and of great concern was the prospect of having an additional 200 or more people trying to evacuate an area that already bottlenecks during drop-off and pick up times at Mountain Avenue Elementary and Rosemont Middle schools. 

Other questions raised concerned infrastructure. Maegan Pearson from Abode assured the audience it would have to get approval from the local water department, which is the Crescenta Valley Water District, and in some cases would have to pay for increased or improved infrastructure if required; however, the January fires were a warning that infrastructure must include water pressure that can fight fires and not just provide enough pressure for showers. 

The general consensus from the audience was that the building was too big for the location. Many asked why this area of La Crescenta was chosen when there are more open areas, like the long vacant K-Mart in Tujunga, which has been dormant for 21 years and has a large plot of land available. 

Other concerns centered around the apartment residents themselves. There did not seem to be issues with the low income housing; in fact, many folks agreed there needed to be more affordable housing. But it was the vague description of TAY that many questions were focused. 

CVW reached out to Pearson asking for clarification concerning this aspect of the plan for 25 units for TAY. It was stated by Upward Bound that the 18-to-24-year-old residents at this complex must have juveniles for whom they are caring.

“Upward Bound requires that Transition Age Youth must have their own child to benefit from Upward Bound’s transitional housing. It is anticipated that Upward Bound will move these families from their transitional housing into Abode Communities’ permanently affordable housing. Upward Bound will continue to provide supportive services to the special needs population, which does include case management, links to resources and referrals, skills-building workshops, and educational workshops, among more,” Pearson said. 

She added that a case manager would be on the premises and accessible during regular working hours.

There are a variety of definitions for TAY. Several in the audience asked what the definition of TAY would be at the complex. That was not clearly answered at the meeting; CVW reached out to Pearson. 

“Yes, the 25 units will be set aside for Transition Age Youth. It is unknown 1) if future residents have substance use challenges and 2) whether or not those individuals are in the process of rehabilitation. Not all Transition Age Youth struggle with substance use. In the event a resident is experiencing substance use challenges, the supportive services team will offer trauma-informed, harm reduction care through one-on-one case management services,” she said. 

This plan was first presented to LA County in December 2024, and subsequently a funding application was submitted to the LA County Development Authority on March 5, 2025. 

This leads to another concern. Abode is looking for financial support through grants, including those from LA County. The approval of the development is contingent upon Abode meeting all of theCounty’s requirements, which included holding the community meeting on Thursday. 

Several wondered if Abode had reached out to fire or law enforcement with its plans and if so who would cover the costs for increased law enforcement coverage if needed? Pearson told the audience Abode was at the beginning phase of the permit process and had yet to reach out to fire, law enforcement or CVWD. 

It was stated several times by residents that representatives from Abode did not understand the community it was attempting to build in, despite the river rock design. 

Patty Scripter, a former statewide advocate for the California State PTA who worked on issues that impact children, youth and families, said although she was sympathetic to the Abode project she had other concerns. 

“I am so sad that what you’re trying to focus on is getting lost because the support for foster youth can make the difference between whether they’re going to be a contributing member of society or another lost child. From the comments [tonight, the community] hasn’t always sounded welcoming … but that is because [the message] got lost in that picture right there,” she said as she pointed to the proposed 80-unit building. 

She suggested, as others had before her, that a smaller complex would be better suited for that area. 

Another speaker, Robert Manciero, had earlier stated he would rather see a business or mixed-use smaller complex at the corner. 

“If you had a smaller [complex] you couldn’t ask for a better community than this,” Scripter added. “We’ve got great schools and parks.” 

She said she understood the rules that must be followed when building affordable housing but added that the Eaton Fire was a warning to the community. 

“We have fewer ways in and out of [Briggs Terrace]. When we had the Station Fire we saw it coming,” she said. 

She added that evacuations back then [in 2009] started slowly but began to build ending with all of the traffic at the corner where the proposed building would be. 

She along with numerous others asked if there is any possibility that a smaller development could be built. 

CVW asked Pearson about that suggestion.

“This property was originally entitled for an 80-unit multifamily development. When Abode Communities assumed site control, we performed a feasibility analysis to confirm that 80 units is the most appropriate density for this location,” she said. 

Eventually this project will have to go before the LA County Board of Supervisors. To email general concerns and opinions to the chair of the board/the office of Supervisor Kathryn Barger, email AbodeProject@bos.lacounty.gov. 

If residents have technical questions concerning the project, including funding questions, email AbodeProject@lacda.org.

Currently there is a petition online to stop the project. It can be found at https://tinyurl.com/a5xm6322. As of Wednesday at 11a.m. there were 1,106 signatures on the petition.