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GLENDALE COULD PURCHASE PROPERTY NEAR CRESCENTA VALLEY PARK
Glendale News Press, CA
Aug 15 2013
Part of the 40-acre Mountain Oaks site is on the City Council radar
By Brittany Levine, [email protected]
August 15, 2013 | 5:12 p.m.
A plot of ground that in 2006 was the proposed site of an Armenian
high school and condominium project has caught the interest of the
City Council. In a closed-door meeting this week, council members
discussed purchasing the land, which is near Crescenta Valley Park.
Since the high school / condo plan fell through, the area, which is
part of a larger 40-acre site known as Mountain Oaks, has sat vacant
and previous city plans to snap up the land to preserve open space
have lingered.
City officials would not comment on their discussions about the site.
While the founder of the Newport Beach investment firm that now owns
the land also didn't share details about the meeting, she said she
was eager to unload the land.
"I want to get done with it," said Rita Carp, owner of Surfside
Funding Corp. "If it's not going to be the city, it's going to be
somebody else."
But it's been more than five years, and Surfside hasn't been able to
sell the property. Surfside took it over to recoup a failed loan it
had made to the developer behind the aborted high school project.
In addition to expansive views of Crescenta Valley, the site offers
access to Verdugo Mountain trails. Between the 1930s and 1960s,
Mountain Oaks was home to a picnic and recreation site.
Despite the attractive location, the property was illegally subdivided
and many of its lots are not up to city code. And it's been fiercely
protected from development by a group of residents who have long
lobbied to preserve it as open space.
Though council members tried to buy the land about five years ago,
the plan fizzled due to tight finances. Glendale's financial situation
subsequently worsened and it was only this year that the city finally
unburdened itself of multi-million dollar budget gaps.
According to the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office, the portion of
the land the city is interested in is valued at roughly $1.2 million.
Meanwhile, a consortium of state and local park agencies known as the
Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority has expressed interest
in buying the separate hillside portion of Mountain Oaks.
But discussions so far, including an appraisal of the hillside portion,
are just the beginning of a potentially lengthy acquisition process,
said the agency's chief counsel, Jeff Maloney. Even after the hillside
property is analyzed for title, access and other issues, the agency
would have to apply for governmental grants to pay for the property
and the owners would have to be open to selling to a public agency,
which may not fork over as much as a private developer.
"As a public agency we're bound to acquire at the assessed value,"
Maloney said, adding that the most recent appraisal was confidential.
Rick Percell, who is a liaison for the pension fund that owns the
mountainous portion, said he's put a lot of effort into working with
the public agency.
"The opportunity [to sell to the agency to the conservation authority]
came up. It made sense," Percell said.
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-me-glendale-could-purchase-property-near-crescenta-valley-park-20130815,0,4348571.story
Glendale News Press, CA
Aug 15 2013
Part of the 40-acre Mountain Oaks site is on the City Council radar
By Brittany Levine, [email protected]
August 15, 2013 | 5:12 p.m.
A plot of ground that in 2006 was the proposed site of an Armenian
high school and condominium project has caught the interest of the
City Council. In a closed-door meeting this week, council members
discussed purchasing the land, which is near Crescenta Valley Park.
Since the high school / condo plan fell through, the area, which is
part of a larger 40-acre site known as Mountain Oaks, has sat vacant
and previous city plans to snap up the land to preserve open space
have lingered.
City officials would not comment on their discussions about the site.
While the founder of the Newport Beach investment firm that now owns
the land also didn't share details about the meeting, she said she
was eager to unload the land.
"I want to get done with it," said Rita Carp, owner of Surfside
Funding Corp. "If it's not going to be the city, it's going to be
somebody else."
But it's been more than five years, and Surfside hasn't been able to
sell the property. Surfside took it over to recoup a failed loan it
had made to the developer behind the aborted high school project.
In addition to expansive views of Crescenta Valley, the site offers
access to Verdugo Mountain trails. Between the 1930s and 1960s,
Mountain Oaks was home to a picnic and recreation site.
Despite the attractive location, the property was illegally subdivided
and many of its lots are not up to city code. And it's been fiercely
protected from development by a group of residents who have long
lobbied to preserve it as open space.
Though council members tried to buy the land about five years ago,
the plan fizzled due to tight finances. Glendale's financial situation
subsequently worsened and it was only this year that the city finally
unburdened itself of multi-million dollar budget gaps.
According to the Los Angeles County Assessor's Office, the portion of
the land the city is interested in is valued at roughly $1.2 million.
Meanwhile, a consortium of state and local park agencies known as the
Mountains Recreation & Conservation Authority has expressed interest
in buying the separate hillside portion of Mountain Oaks.
But discussions so far, including an appraisal of the hillside portion,
are just the beginning of a potentially lengthy acquisition process,
said the agency's chief counsel, Jeff Maloney. Even after the hillside
property is analyzed for title, access and other issues, the agency
would have to apply for governmental grants to pay for the property
and the owners would have to be open to selling to a public agency,
which may not fork over as much as a private developer.
"As a public agency we're bound to acquire at the assessed value,"
Maloney said, adding that the most recent appraisal was confidential.
Rick Percell, who is a liaison for the pension fund that owns the
mountainous portion, said he's put a lot of effort into working with
the public agency.
"The opportunity [to sell to the agency to the conservation authority]
came up. It made sense," Percell said.
http://www.glendalenewspress.com/news/tn-gnp-me-glendale-could-purchase-property-near-crescenta-valley-park-20130815,0,4348571.story