Who We Are
Glendale-Crescenta Volunteers Organized In Conserving the Environment (VOICE) was formed in 1997 to address the need for organized support for open space preservation in the Glendale and Crescenta Valley area. Since then, we have implemented a vigorous program of public education, cooperation with local, state and federal officials, and participation in the administrative process for open space issues in our area. Originally, our principal focus was on the Oakmont View V project, a 238-acre development project that was preserved as open space in March of 2003. We now work to educate the public on the value of open space in Glendale, the Crescenta Valley, and the Sunland-Tujunga neighborhoods of Los Angeles.
Our Accomplishments
Led the successful battle to preserve the Oakmont View V property which is now owned by the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy and known as the “Verdugo Mountains Open Space Preserve.”
Organized an unprecedented level of public participation in the City of Glendale during the Oakmont View V campaign.
Nominated the Verdugo Mountains to Scenic America who selected them as one of America’s prestigious “Last Chance Landscapes.”
Sponsored the successful campaign to name Tongva Peak in honor of Glendale’s Native American heritage.
Assisted other grass-roots organizations in open space conservation efforts including Polygon II, Deerpass, and Canyon Hills.
The Future
VOICE has always aspired to the highest level of professionalism and effectiveness. We have been praised as a model organization by Joe Edmiston, the Executive Director of the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy, and other public officials. We are proud to count among our current and former Board of Directors several former presidents of Glendale homeowners associations, the former president of the Crescenta Valley Town Council, and the City of Glendale’s representative to the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy. The quality of our leadership ensures that we will continue to be effective far into the future
Since 2005, Glendale-Crescenta V.O.I.C.E. has been involved in a campaign to save the historic Verdugo Hills Golf Course from a proposed housing development by Snowball West Investments. The developers, if they get their way, will subdivide and subsequently develop 215 units on the 58-acre project site, destroying a precious community resource forever.
A Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) was released to the public for review and comment in 2009 and we and other community members submitted hundreds of comment letters to the Los Angeles Department of City Planning. Subsequent portions of the DEIR were recirculated in December 2015 and others in September 2017.
Notwithstanding significant public opposition, the LA City Planning Commission ultimately certified the revised FEIR, approved the vesting tentative tract map for the project and recommended approval of the vesting zone change. However, when the matter went to the City Council, the Council voted to deny the zone change based in part on the safety hazards of the project in such a dangerous fire zone and the significant traffic impacts.
Subsequently, the property owners, Snowball West Investments, sued the City in superior court. The court ruled in the City’s favor and now the owners have filed an appeal of that decision.
V.O.I.C.E. is still working with all parties to try to preserve for open space as much of the golf course property as possible.