Alhambra Highlands - No Winners To Be Found

Today is Wednesday, July 20, 2011. Tonight the City Council tackles what promises to be one of its thorniest issues this year – the project. This project – 110 homes on 72 acres of pristine oak forest hillsides and ridges -- reaches a hand out of the foggy past, when such developments were sought after by cities.

This one has gone through several iterations, and several owners. The project before the council tonight is likely to be the final proposal. If it gets approved, no one wins, really. Rick Sabella, president of Richfield Development, admitted recently that his company doesn’t stand to make much money from the project. But he’s not willing to just walk away from a $30 million investment, either.

The neighbors, facing a ten-year construction project, possible landslides and dramatic changes to their pastoral environment, are adamantly opposed to seeing the development approved. And there is a group of citizens formed to try and arrange a public purchase of the property to keep it open space. But so far, no one has really heard from the Alhambra Hills Open Space Committee. They have sponsored several ill-attended hikes near the property, but requests from Patch for information have gone unanswered so far.

If the council denies the project, it does so with the certainty that the city will face a multi-million lawsuit it cannot afford to lose. Sabella will accuse the city of taking his property without compensation, and absent some compelling evidence that hasn’t surfaced yet at the public hearings, the courts are likely to agree.

Opponents feel they have a solid case against the project, and have also threatened to take the city to court if the council gives Alhambra Highlands a green light. Concerns about landslides, greenhouse gases, inadequate tree replacement requirements and a flawed public hearing process are some of the issues that have been brought to the council during the previous public hearing.

Tonight, if the council makes a decision, the losing side will likely lawyer up. And no matter the outcome of the Alhambra Highlands project, it is the lawyers who stand to be the only winners in this whole affair.

WEATHER:

Sunny. Highs in the mid 90s. West winds 5 to 10 mph increasing to 10 to 20 mph in the afternoon.

MEETINGS:

The City Council meets at 7 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chambers, 525 Henrietta St.

EVENTS:

TODAY IN HISTORY:

1903 - The Ford Motor Company ships its first car.

1932 - In Washington, D.C., police fire tear gas on World War I veterans, part of the Bonus Expeditionary Force, who attempt to march to the White House.

1940 - California opens its first freeway, the Arroyo Seco Parkway.

1944 - World War II: Adolf Hitler survives an assassination attempt led by German Army Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg.

1969 - Apollo Program: Apollo 11 successfully makes the first manned landing on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. The first moonwalk EVA follows almost 7 hours later.

1976 - The American Viking 1 lander successfully lands on Mars.

1977 - The Central Intelligence Agency releases documents under the Freedom of Information Act revealing it had engaged in mind control experiments.