By Brandon HENSLEY

It is possible that the campus of Crescenta Valley High School may be able to host football games within the next three years, according to Glendale Unified School District.

The district’s facilities and planning development administrator Hagop Kassabian was asked about the timeline for the project during the March 18 CV Town Council meeting. 

Kassabian said the proposal, which includes installing lighting and stands around the field to allow football games and other larger events, will go to the GUSD board for a vote in April.

“Development could take nine months to a year,” he said. “Approval process could be a year to a year and a half, then the bidding process and construction. Two and a half [years is] being really aggressive. Maybe three years.”

As previously reported by CV Weekly, the school hosted a permit issuing process on March 5, which concerned the first step in the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

The stands would be placed on the north side of the track and field and would allow CVHS students to hold their home games at home rather than at Glendale High School, which is the current designated site.

CV assistant principal John Eldred spoke to council, and said the project has been in discussion for about nine years. CV High, after all, began as a middle school, and in terms of acreage is the smallest high school in GUSD. 

“We’ve been working on this for a long time and we’re really excited about the idea of being able to provide our students and our faculty and community with stands and lights in order to be able to host not just athletic events but community events,” Eldred said. 

District board member Jennifer Freemon said the project is part of trying to turn CV into what a “fully comprehensive high school should be.”

One of the questions asked at the meeting was about parking. Addie Farell, who represents the urban planning firm Placeworks that was hired by GSUD to do the environmental review, said, “the project we evaluated in the environmental impact report does not include the development of any new parking.” 

She said that means no new structures would be built, and the district would have to prepare a traffic management plan for large events.

“CV High School … is the flagship and the pride and joy of La Crescenta when it comes to students who want to spend as many hours as possible on that campus. That’s how much they love it,” said district Superintendent Vivian Ekchian. 

Ekchian said Glendale is now in the Red Tier for Covid-19 protocols, which is an improvement from the previous Purple Tier, and that she is “hoping they will be in Orange sometime in April.”

Teachers have been welcomed back to classrooms this week. Students in grades TK-2 will return on March 29, and our elementary students in grades three to six will return on April 5. Additional plans on bringing students back, and plans for summer school, will be given later this spring, she said.

“[In] the deliberate and careful return of our students on campus, with the greatest level of safety, we will focus on the social and emotional support of our students, focusing particularly on our seniors who feel there isn’t much time left for them,” Ekchian said.

Former Town Council president Cheryl Davis then gave an update on the council’s Land Use Committee. 

Davis said that from the March 4 meeting, members from Regional Planning presented on the housing element for unincorporated parts of the county. 

“They are looking at [building] 90,000 units in the next eight years. In order to accomplish that, they will look at rezoning … and are looking at 33 parcels in Montrose,” Davis said.

LA County is asking for residents to take a survey. Visit planning.lacounty.gov or call (213) 974-6417 to offer feedback on the proposal.

“Please make your voice heard,” urged Davis. “They want to know about development, density, housing needs and what you want to see in the unincorporated area.”

The next CVTC meeting is scheduled for April 15 via Zoom. Visit thecvcouncil.com for more details.