By Mary O’KEEFE 

In the June meeting of the Crescenta Valley Town Council (CVTC) members voted to recommend denial of the zoning modification request for a project on Canyonside Road. 

Canyonside Road is located in La Crescenta in an area known as Briggs Terrace, where homes are located at the foothills of the Angeles National Forest. There is one way in and one way out of the neighborhood. It is in an extreme fire zone area. 

The owner of a Canyonside Road property requested zoning modifications.  

“The project is a 3-story single-family house on the downhill side. The only issue before the Land Use Committee was the application for waiver of the 10 foot setback in the front,” said Cheryl Davis, chair of the CVTC Land Use Committee (LUC).

The main concern of neighbors appeared to be that the proposed driveway and house would be 10 feet closer to Canyonside Road and a portion of the easement path above upper Canyonside Road, according to Davis. 

“Some residents also expressed concern about additional houses recently built, or that will be built, in that area, which will result in more density and more traffic,” she added. 

When the issue was earlier brought to the LUC speakers included the owner of the property. His father, the property architect, made a presentation on the proposed project. The majority of the speakers at that meeting were residents of the Canyonside/Upper Briggs Terrace neighborhood. There was a motion made not to allow the 10 foot variance. The vote was 4 to 3 with Davis, as chair, then voting no. There was a question as to whether the chair of the LUC could only vote to break a tie and the issue was brought to the CVTC so it could make its own recommendation to Regional Planning. 

That is when the CVTC heard the issue, including from local residents, and made its decision to deny the request.

“This request for the setback variance now goes to a future LA County Regional Planning hearing downtown,” Davis said. “If Planning denies the variance, the home can be built if it is set back 10 feet from the front property line.”