Mountain Oaks

Mountain Oaks is located at the south end of New York Avenue within the city limits of Glendale. This portion of La Crescenta was annexed by Glendale in the 1950’s. It lies adjacent to Crescenta Valley Park on the north and is bordered on the east by Whiting Woods and on the west by Glenwood Oaks. There are roughly 40 acres on which there are currently 12 houses total. The rest remains as open space.

The proposed development would completely destroy the flat, 15-acre meadow that is the centerpiece of Mountain Oaks. In its place would be a private high school serving 500 students and a condominiums with 200-300 units.

Impacts from the proposed project would include increased traffic and congestion, pollution, noise, crime, loss of California Live Oaks, Sycamore trees, and Black Walnut trees. Many of these native trees are over 100 years old and provide habitat for wildlife in the area including deer, bobcats, great horned owls, foxes, red-tailed hawks, coyotes, and many other inhabitants. The quality of life in this tranquil area would be diminished if yet another developer were allowed to raze this land.

Leading the fight to preserve Mountain Oaks is Friends of Mountain Oaks, a non-profit organization formed to educate the public about the benefits of open space and the negative impact development has on them. They enjoy the support of the Sierra Club, the Historical Society of Crescenta Valley, Crescenta Valley Heritage, and now V.O.I.C.E.

At its Spring picnic on May 21st, V.O.I.C.E. announced its public position on the proposed Mountain Oaks development, which calls for a private high school and up to 300 condominium units to be built on the beautiful, 40-acre rural site. V.O.I.C.E. believes that Mountain Oaks is perfectly situated to serve as a trail head into the Verdugo Mountains or for some other site for passive recreation. It must be preserved as residential open space benefiting the residents of Glendale and the Crescenta Valley.