The standards cover items such as height restrictions, setbacks and parking requirements. The review will be by planning staff, with appeals possible to the commission.
Most speakers at a community meeting favored the plan, though “a few property owners expressed concerns related to the issue of additional restrictions on their property,” Glaser stated in a report.
Work on the district began in 2001 after La Crescenta resident Richard Toyon made a presentation to the Crescenta Valley Town Council regarding the appearance of Foothill Boulevard, the community’s main business district.
The council set up a Foothill Design Committee to work on a plan. Co-chaired by Toyon and then-council member Sharon Raghavachary, the committee worked on developing the plan and advising the county on projects proposed for Foothill Boulevard.
Raghavachary said that she was delighted to see the plan finally come to the board of supervisors. “I feel like it’s been done for awhile,” she said.
The local resident added that she believes the standards can have a strong effect on Foothill’s future. “There are a lot of properties out there that could be developed,” she said.
She added that she wasn’t concerned that the standards needed to be enforced by planning staff. “I think we made it clear what we’re looking for,” she said. “And we have pictures and examples.”
The scope of the planning effort has expanded in recent years, as local leaders began to work toward a unified look for Foothill Boulevard, which runs through four jurisdictions: L.A. County, city of Glendale, L.A. city and La Cañada.
Glendale has launched a master plan effort in La Crescenta, using the county standards as a point of departure, and L.A. City has adopted a Foothill plan for Tujunga.
A CSD actually exists for the community, adopted in 2007 and dealing with multiple residential zones. The Foothill plan would be an amendment to this CSD.
