The Outlook Valley Sun published a Letter to the Editor on Dec. 21 regarding the first developer of 600 Foothill, Oakwood Active Senior Living, and it suggested the plans filed with the city’s development and building departments actually were that.
Instead, it appears that the company had begun the process for a locked dementia facility. Then the project was described as being surrounded by a large parking lot. Of course, the writer fails to understand that the lot will disappear when the 80 units of rental units, retail spaces and “hotel units” are built and there will be completely inadequate parking. Plus, the project was turned down because of fire, traffic, parking, all the codes that every one of the citizens and other buildings have to adhere to for the protection of life and property.
Ultimately, the proposal was certified without substantial changes. The numbers of lots for development of this sort and the numbers of units zoned-for were similar. But now there have been substantial changes to the developers’ plan. The state isn’t looking at the issues here because they are on a crusade, the Los Angeles Times was sold a bill of goods by the developers, and they didn’t do their due diligence to learn the truth before showing how public-spirited they are by publishing the developers’ characterization.
The city should not be painted as inexorably opposed to increased housing in mixed-use developments. As our three drafts all showed, we supported and still do these, when designed within the building codes for everybody’s sakes.
Lauren Oakes
La Cañada Flintridge
First published in the December 28 print issue of the Outlook Valley Sun.
