Canyon Area Preservation

Email from CAP Views

Dear Fellow Concerned Citizens:

Thank you for your response to my recent plea for donations to help us put together a response to the Whitebird Canyon Hills DEIR! You may not think that your contribution can be effective in the face of Whitebird’s massive lobbying and public relations campaign, but I assure you that what we are doing is critical.

Here’s a quote from a concerned citizen in La Tuna Canyon:

“Thank you for sending out this reminder email asking for donations. Because of it, I will be sending $100 ASAP to VOICE. $100 is a lot of money to me, even though I own property in La Tuna Canyon. I am behind in my bills and can't even afford to finish the work on my residence there in order to move back into it. but I know how important it is that we all donate. If I can afford more soon, I will send more.”

What about the rest of you? Will you please make a copy of the message below and give it to your neighbors? This is a completely volunteer grass roots campaign to give a voice to all the people who are concerned about the massive effects of this development on our community. Please take personal responsibility to do something to help yourself and your neighbors.

I, too, will be donating $100 to VOICE. My story is similar to the quote above – out of work for the past two and a half years, behind in my bills, afraid that our Community and Scenic Plans are being shredded by the out-of-state monied interests who don’t care what they will leave behind after they’ve sold all the lots of this development. We’re all strapped for cash, but who will help if you don’t?

Remember that when you see Whitebird’s lawyers and public relations hacks at our community meetings, they are being paid to be there. Their slick flyers and databases of names are paid for. Their pretty maps and pictures are high quality and expensive. They are giving money to our elected officials to listen to their side of the story. It costs us money to copy the flyers we hand out, to miss work to attend meetings, and will cost thousands to hire the experts we need to help us have an effective voice. (What would we do without the internet and a word processing program????)

Please do what you can to help. Thank you so much.

Steve Crouch
CAP Views Editor
Canyon Area Preservation
CAPViews@comcast.net

Hello everyone,

Canyon Area Preservation (CAP) is an all volunteer community organization dedicated to providing information about preserving our canyons, hillsides, and the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains, the Crescenta Valley, and the Sunland-Tujunga region. We’re joined by thousands of people in the area who are concerned about the environment and how our use of the land affects our lives, including most of the community organizations in our area such as Foothill Trails District Neighborhood Council, Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council, Glendale Cresecenta V.O.I.C.E., and the Sierra Club.

CAP’s biggest concern right now is the Whitebird Canyon Hills development project. This development will bring 280 homes to currently undeveloped land on both sides of the 210 Freeway between Sunland Blvd. and La Tuna Canyon Road. It is a major project – millions of cubic yards of hillside will be graded, hundreds of oak trees will be destroyed, thousands of additional car trips per day are projected for La Tuna Canyon Road, and so much more.

We realize it might be overwhelming to: 1) figure out where to get accurate information about this project; 2) learn what your elected representatives are doing to serve your interests; 3) discover the true impact of this project on the environment and on our community at large; and 4) find out what you can do to make sure your voice is heard. So, here’s an easy way to solve all these problems!

Please make a tax-deductible donation to our cause, so we can bring the information to you and help pay for the expert testimony required to make sure true facts about this project are brought to light.

We need to raise $20,000 fast to hire experts to analyze the data offered by Whitebird in their Draft Environmental Impact Report, and we’re a long way from our goal. Without this information, we will only have our voices – we need to create real information that will hold up to public scrutiny by hiring expert testimony. I guarantee you that if Whitebird is allowed to submit their one-sided opinions without challenge, the project will have one-sided benefits – for Whitebird only. Who will stand up for our Community Plan, our still-to-be-approved Scenic Plan, the Zoning that determines proper use of all land in the area? We will, with your help!

Please consider giving money to help us out – to help YOU out! It’s OK if you only have $25, but if you can afford $100, $500, or $1,000 that will really go a long way towards our goal. Send your donations to:

Glendale Crescenta V.O.I.C.E.
PO Box 273
Montrose, CA 91021
818-249-0900
Mark your check for Canyon Hills. Thank you so much for your help.