GHSNC News Archive

Grand Opening Ceremony of Fire Station 87 in Granada Hills, May 3!

Mark your calendar for the Grand Opening and Dedication Ceremony of Fire Station 87, Saturday, May 3 in Granada Hills.

Meet the firefighters and see the facility that will help keep our community safe!

There will be helicopter fly-overs, refreshments, face painters, Wilshire the Fire Dog, fire house chili, jumpers, music, tours of the station and more.

Saturday, May 3, 2008
10:00 am - 2:00 pm
Fire Station 87
10124 Balboa Blvd.
Granada Hills, CA 91344
(1 block south of Devonshire St.)

"Big Sunday" Day of Service - May 3-4, 2008

On Saturday, May 3rd, the Mayor's Office, along with Council Members Smith and Zine will be sponsoring a Day of Service in the West Valley Communities of Chatsworth, Canoga Park, Winnetka, and West Hills. We are working alongside BigSunday, and it is likely that any projects you wish to join will be detailed on their website (BigSunday.org) starting April 1st.

There will be up to 50 projects in the West Valley, some of which will entail, for example, planting trees or pulling non-native weeds out of Chatsworth Trails, or "Human Interest" projects, such as collecting donations for the local animal shelter or distributing compact fluorescent light bulbs to small businesses.

The event starts at 8:00am at each of the project sites; and then at 12:00pm, we'll have a Closing Ceremony at the Chatsworth Train Depot.

Click here for more information.

Massive Las Lomas Development Blocked in City Council
March 19, 2008

Councilman Greig Smith's motion to have the City make a policy decision to stop the Las Lomas development, stop the annexation of the land into City of Los Angeles and reject the Supplemental Fee Agreement to allow the developer to expedite the project, was approved by the City Council today. The Las Lomas project was too big, too dense, and couldn’t be planned in a worse place. It would have a devastating effect on traffic and the environment, and would unacceptably strain our water, infrastructure and public safety resources.

The huge coalition of opponents to Las Lomas who came together to say no to this project have our gratitude and praise for stepping up to the plate to defend our community. Residents, community groups, elected officials, Neighborhood Councils, and environmental groups took official positions of opposition to Las Lomas, wrote letters of opposition, and made public comments against the development at Neighborhood Council meetings, City Council meetings and Planning & Land Use Management Committee meetings.

Today was a big victory for the San Fernando Valley in the fight to protect our quality of life and ensure that we focus on the needs of our communities.

Developer's Project Description
White Paper by Councilman Greig Smith on Las Lomas
Letter to the City of Los Angeles by Congressman Brad Sherman

Veteran's Memorial

The board voted on November 8, 2007 to continue funding for the maintenance of the Veteran's Memorial located at Chatsworth and Zelzah. The amount was $1,500 to provide services January through June 2008.

The triangle shaped median includes a flag pole, landscaping and the Welcome to Granada Hills sign which has a veteran's memorial on the back of it honoring veterans of the Korean and Vietnam wars.

James E. Smith Honored

James E. “Jim” Smith, a resident of Los Angeles for more than 60 years and veteran of two wars in three different branches of the United States armed forces, has died. He was 85. He was honored at the November 8, 2007 GHSNC meeting. Stakeholders are invited to recommend other residents to be honored by the board. Please submit your recommendations to board@ghsnc.org.

Smith, who had lived in Northridge since 1963, died Oct. 19, 2007, at Holy Cross Hospital in Mission Hills after a short illness.

Born and raised in Grand Junction, Colorado, Smith moved to Los Angeles in 1940. During WW II, he enlisted in the Coast Guard and was commissioned an officer in the United States Maritime Service, surviving three sinkings in combat.

He served in the U.S. Army from 1946-1948, and married Constance H. Smith (nee Greer), of Cranford, New Jersey, in 1948. The Smiths returned to Los Angeles in 1948 and would have celebrated their 60th anniversary in 2008.

Mr. Smith was recalled to active duty with the Army in 1950 during the Korean War, served in Asia and the Pacific, and was wounded in action in Korea. He was honorably discharged from active duty – for the fourth time in a decade – in 1952. Mr. Smith went on to a 35-year-career with IBM, rising to the level of national manager in the Los Angeles office. The family had moved to Northridge in 1963 and the Smiths were very active in the community, including serving on the founding board of the Granada Hills High School PTA in the 1960s and with BSA Boy Scout Troop 522 in the 1970s, where Mr. Smith served as scoutmaster for six years.

Mr. Smith is survived by his wife, Connie, of Northridge; their children and spouses, Marsha and Bruce Ellis, of Gisborne, Australia; Sally and Jerre Reimers, of Simi Valley, California; Patricia and Bob Ollry, of Mission Viejo, California; Jim and Maria Smith, of Murrieta, California; and Brad and Maria Smith, of Granada Hills, California; 13 grandchildren, James, Andrew, and Christopher Ellis, of Gisborne; Jennifer and Jeffrey Reimers, of Simi Valley; Margaret Ollry, of Mission Viejo; Justin, Matthew, and Lindsey Smith, of Murrieta; and Douglas, Thomas, Catherine, and Caroline Smith, of Granada Hills; and six siblings, Robert Smith, Kay Smith, Alice Condren, Mary Lou Ward, Frank Smith, and Larry Smith.

The family asks any donations be made to the S.S. Lane Victory Endowment Fund, San Pedro, California, at http://www.lanevictory.org/endowments.htm. Services were October 26, 2007 at Riverside National Cemetery.

City Launches Historic Websites

The City of LA has launched two new websites: See www.preservation.lacity.org to explore the new Office of Historic Resources web site, containing profiles, maps and photos of Los Angeles' 22 Historic Preservation Overlay Zones (HPOZs), a summary of Los Angeles' historic designation process, and links to useful information on historic preservation and preservation incentives.

A second, linked web site, www.surveyla.org, is devoted solely to "SurveyLA" -- the ambitious, multi-year Los Angeles Historic Resources Survey. Be sure to check out the interactive "Historic Resource Identification Form" that will allow community members to describe lesser-known Los Angeles places that deserve further consideration in the survey as potential historic resources.

GHSNC at Granada Hills Street Faire

GHSNC hosted a booth at the Granada Hills Street Faire Saturday, October 6, 2007 as part of our outreach to the community.

Proposed Kohl's Approved at Public Hearing

There was a public hearing held on Thursday, September 20, 2007 on the proposed Kohl's. The project was accepted as proposed, with a few changes to the variance requests. The set back and height were modified, but the overall size was not changed.

There were 120 people in attendance opposing the project. 38 of them testified as to the problems that Kohl's would create in the community in terms of traffic problems, size, affect on the neighborhood and more. Read the meeting summary provided by two attendees.

The Board has taken a stand against the proposed Kohl's overbuilding project. We have held two public meetings in March and April of 2007 to discuss the proposal.

See our Kohl's page for all the documents describing the proposal and our concerns.