COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT NEIGHBOR-DESIGNED PROJECT KICKS OFF.Byline: Gregory J. Wilcox Staff Writer SYLMAR - The design of Roxford Glen, a horse-friendly development in Sylmar, began with a childlike exercise in a garage. A representative of John Laing For John Laing, the 15th century bishop of Glasgow, see John Laing (bishop) John Laing plc is a British developer and operator of privately financed, public sector infrastructure projects such as roads, railways, hospitals and schools through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and Homes passed out crayons, magazines, scissors scissors Cutting instrument or tool consisting of a pair of opposed metal blades that meet and cut when the handles at their ends are brought together. Modern scissors are of two types: the more usual pivoted blades have a rivet or screw connection between the cutting ends and glue. Then he told a gathering of somewhat astonished a·ston·ish tr.v. as·ton·ished, as·ton·ish·ing, as·ton·ish·es To fill with sudden wonder or amazement. See Synonyms at surprise. members of Rancho Cascades Homeowners Association to peruse pe·ruse tr.v. pe·rused, pe·rus·ing, pe·rus·es To read or examine, typically with great care. [Middle English perusen, to use up : Latin per-, per- the magazines and clip, paste and color a vision of what kind of development they would like to see in their neighborhood. The simplistic sim·plism n. The tendency to oversimplify an issue or a problem by ignoring complexities or complications. [French simplisme, from simple, simple, from Old French; see simple task, actually a structured psycho-graphic vision exercise, was the start of an outreach program that worked. On Thursday, present and former John Laing executives, some of those association members and others gathered under a tent on Herrick Avenue in Sylmar to celebrate the start of construction on the 44-unit project that will feature six equestrian lots big enough for a corral corral a small fenced-in enclosure with high, wooden fences, suitable for holding cattle or horses. corral system a management system in which range cattle are put into corrals and fed hay for a period when the environment is most . Some guests rode up on horseback on the back of a horse; mounted or riding on a horse or horses; in the saddle. See also: Horseback . ``You responded in ways that made us think. You guys are building this as much as we are,'' said Bill Rattazzi, president of the John Laing Homes Los Angeles/Ventura division. Association member Bob Feeny won't forget that first meeting with the developer. ``We said, OK, they are going to use this against us,'' he said of the exercise. ``They are going to go to the City Council and tell them we're crazy.'' But Feeny clipped, glued and colored in his vision of a new development. It featured a picture of a house on one side and a guy looking at it through a telescope. ``I wanted that house to to be quite a ways away from my house,'' he recalled. Javier Mariscal Javier Mariscal is a Spanish artist and designer whose work has spanned a wide range of mediums, ranging from painting and sculpture to interior design and landscaping. Hwas born in February 1950 in the city of Valencia, Spain, into a family of eleven brothers and sisters. , at the time Laing's director of urban regeneration, said Feeny's artwork became part of a crucial tool. A moderator Laing brought in for the meeting took each collage and made it part of a master collage from which a vision for the development emerged. ``We got what we call the core values - our road map. Using that imagery we found out what they wanted was kind of this rural lifestyle, not the urban encroachment An illegal intrusion in a highway or navigable river, with or without obstruction. An encroachment upon a street or highway is a fixture, such as a wall or fence, which illegally intrudes into or invades the highway or encloses a portion of it, diminishing its width or area, but that's taking place all over the Valley,'' said Mariscal, who left Laing in April to form a consulting company Noun 1. consulting company - a firm of experts providing professional advice to an organization for a fee consulting firm business firm, firm, house - the members of a business organization that owns or operates one or more establishments; "he worked for a , Urban Living Concepts LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control . That master collage has guided every step of the project's planning and design process. And throughout it all Laing executives held meetings in residents' homes and City Councilman Alex Padilla's office to keep the neighborhood appraised of progress. And that was by design, too. When Mariscal first briefed the councilman's staff on the project, he got some good advice. ``They basically said, hey guys, we like your proposal but you really need to do some outreach and get community input.'' Khaiam R. Morton, Padilla's field deputy, said the process paid off. ``You want to talk about the right project and community support? That's what we have here.'' Laing will build the project in six phases on what used to be three equestrian lots. The community now will have twice as many on the same amount of land. A 400-foot horse trail will connect to the existing network that winds through the community. The home designs will be traditional ranch architecture and feature front porches. Home sites will range from 7,500 square feet to 17,500 square feet, with floor plans ranging from 2,666 square feet to 3,288 square feet with up to six bedrooms and four bathrooms. ``This community is a perfect example of how we can address our need for housing while working to maintain the character of our neighborhoods,'' Padilla said in a statement. Rattazzi says Sylmar is one of the special places in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , in large part because of the rural lifestyle. ``Sylmar is kind of the forgotten area of the Valley,'' he said. And the people who live there know what they like. Feeny said the association and other groups have opposed plans in the past with such vigor developers eventually went elsewhere. Laing's outreach efforts worked, though. About 100 residents showed up at Laing's final city hearing to support the project and they brought along petitions signed by 900 other people who did, too. ``We're very happy with the way John Laing approached us. It was very different from the way other developers came in and we gave them a lot of what-for,'' Feeny said. Gregory J. Wilcox, (818) 713-3743 greg.wilcox(at)dailynews.com CAPTION(S): photo, map Photo: Rhonda Feeny and her husband, Bob, look over drawings of homes to be built in the Roxford Glen housing development, which was designed using input from surrounding residents. Michael Owen
Map: Proposed 44-home Roxford Glen Development Daily News |
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