Residents, developers differ on need for influx of new homes.

TUJUNGA'S first settlers yanked boulders from the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains to build their one-story stone cottages.

A century later, developers are knocking down those sturdy structures and putting up sprawling multi-story homes. They're also snapping up grazing meadows to build tracts of single-family homes.

The activity is causing some concern among longtime residents, who say they want development--just not this kind. Some are trying to enact zoning codes that would restrict the so-called "Monster Mansions" and preserve the stone homes.

"They're replacing these lovely stones with cinderblocks," said Debbie Beck, a member of the Sunland-Tujunga Neighborhood Council. "It's appalling."

But residents are welcoming commercial development on the main drag of Commerce Avenue.

Kiong Su Han's Foothill & Commerce Properties LLC has received final approval for a 40,000-square-foot mall at the intersection of Commerce and Foothill Boulevard that will feature a mix of restaurants, shops and offices clustered around a central courtyard.

Robin Siegel-Meares, a neighborhood council member, said the project, which has received broad community support, could serve as a new de facto town center. She hopes it will lead to a renewal of the faded Commerce streetscape.

"This is exactly the type of development we've been trying to attract," she said. "We want more development and high density housing but we want it on our commercial corridors."

Development came slow to Tujunga; the area got its start as a socialist utopian colony. Wedged between the Verdugo Hills and San Gabriel Mountains, Tujunga was included in the 1840 Mexican land grant Rancheria of Tujungna--named for a Native American word for mountain range.

The colonists arrived in 1907, erecting a community center made of stone called Bolton Hall a few years later; it is now a museum. Another stone building--the private residence of California poet laureate and U.S. Rep. John Steven McGroarty--is now home to the non-profit McGroarty Arts Center.

The community incorporated as an independent city in 1925, but seven years later it joined Los Angeles to gain access to water. Large subdivisions weren't built until the mid-1980s housing boom. When the market went bust, the commercial strip imploded.

Many retailers closed shop and now, except for a smattering of bars and chain restaurants along Foothill Boulevard and Commerce Avenue, residents must drive to nearby towns for nightlife and shopping.

Developers argue that the new housing goes hand in hand with commercial development.

"It could be an absolute catalyst for the community," said Richard Percell, principal in California Whitebird Inc., which has proposed the largest residential development for the area.

The 280-home development dubbed Canyon Hills would straddle the Foothill (210) Freeway. Whitebird is in negotiations With the city of Los Angeles for entitlements.

Spurred by the new housing and commercial construction, retailers are beginning to look at Tujunga, said Dwight Steinert, a senior planner with Studio City-based environmental consultancy Planning Associates Inc.

He said projects such as the newly opened Angeles National Golf Club and the new All Nations Church, both on Foothill Boulevard, have cast a spotlight on the community.

When K-Mart Corp. closed a large store occupying several acres of land in October, Home Depot Inc. bought out the lease, seeking to build a 112,000-square-foot store on the site. The plan is opposed by residents and L.A. City Councilwoman Wendy Greuel, whose 2nd District includes Tujunga.

Greuel is also working with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy to preserve as much open space in the Canyon Hills development as possible. Of the 887 acres owned by the developer, 700 acres have been pledged for preservation, but Greuel wants more open space. She has also secured $700,000 to buy a 145-acre tract south of La Tuna Canyon for preservation. "My goal for the area is to preserve for perpetuity as much open space as possible," she said. "I don't want to see those beautiful mountains developed."