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61-522: The name Tujunga or Tuxunga means "old woman's place" in both Fernandeño and Tongva , where Tuxu means "old woman". The term is thought to relate to an ethnohistoric narrative, known as Khra'wiyawi, collected by Carobeth Laird from Juan and Juana Menendez at the Leonis Adobe in 1916. In the narrative, the wife of Khra'wiyawi (the chief of the region) is stricken with grief over the untimely loss of her daughter. In her sadness, she retreats to

122-423: A community league ) is a governmental or non-governmental body, whose purpose is to promote citizen participation in local government. The organization serves as a point of contact between the main city government and the city's residents, through functions such as publishing community newsletters to communicate civic and political issues to the community, making advisory recommendations to the citywide government on

183-571: A trial court held that the city had no authority to refuse a zoning variance to Consolidated Rock Company to continue operating a gravel pit in the Big Tujunga Wash . An appellate court overturned that decision, but in 1962, the California Supreme Court upheld the right of the city to ban the pit. The decision was a victory for local people who had battled the project for more than three years: They contended that

244-583: A Lot of Living," and the founders divided their community into 1.5-acre (6,100 m ) lots, which they called "little lands". A community center built from local river rock, Bolton Hall , was dedicated in August 1913 and still stands as a historical monument and museum operated by the Little Landers Historical Society. An early advertising slogan was "Move to Tujunga with a trowel and a bag of cement, and build your own." After

305-559: A cost of $ 24,000 to the company. The city council determined that the extent of construction involved exceeded the limits of what is known as "tenant improvements" and thus qualified as a "project" subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Under CEQA rules, Home Depot would be required to carry out an environmental impact report , so the company filed a lawsuit against Council Member Wendy Greuel, accusing her of improperly interfering with

366-403: A high school diploma and some college education were high for the county. The median age was 36, old for the city of Los Angeles but about average for the county. The percentage of residents ages 35 to 49 was among the county's highest. 9.7 percent of the population were veterans – high for the city of Los Angeles but about average for the county overall. The percentage of Vietnam veterans was among

427-451: A high-school diploma and some college education was high for the county. Population: 13,098. It was a moderately diverse neighborhood. The area had a high family income. The median age at 39 was old for both the county and the city. The percentages of veterans who served during World War II or Korea and Vietnam were among the county's highest. Population: 26,527. Median household income: $ 58,001. The percentages of residents 25 and older with

488-463: A neighborhood association is generally a private non-profit organization, a neighborhood council is a governmental structure in which multiple distinct neighborhood associations may be participants. The concept has its origins in the 19th-century emergence of "social centers" or "city clubs", community organizations which were formed in the northeastern United States to provide a forum for citizens to engage in debate on local political issues. In 1917,

549-440: A president, a vice-president, a secretary, a treasurer (these two roles are often carried out by the same person), a representative to the municipal council, and one or more members which represent other community organizations. Depending on the model in place, executive members may be elected either generally by members of the community at large, or internally within the league's pool of active volunteers and members. Other services

610-532: A proposed $ 21,000 bond issue for a new school building. In 1907, social philosopher and community organizer William Ellsworth Smythe joined forces with real estate speculator Marshall V. Hartranft to found what Smythe believed would be a kind of utopia . The movement had been successful in establishing colonies in San Ysidro, California , and in Idaho . The utopianists had as their slogan, "A Little Land and

671-413: A reshaped Second Council District , already represented by Joel Wachs . It was a Y-shaped configuration "with only a long, thin finger of territory" connecting Sunland-Tujunga on the north with Van Nuys on the south. A lawsuit against the plan was dismissed in late September by U.S. District Judge James M. Ideman . Despite the fact that Wachs had struggled to prevent being assigned to a district that

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732-643: A single police station, branch library, neighborhood council , chamber of commerce , city council district, and high school. The merging of these communities under a hyphenated name goes back as far as 1928. Sunland-Tujunga contains the highest point of the city, Mount Lukens . The neighborhood lies between the Verdugo Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains. It is contiguous on the east with La Crescenta-Montrose . Sunland and Tujunga are divided by Mount Gleason Avenue, with Sunland on

793-531: Is just fantastic. Wherever I've gone, preserving the lifestyle seems to be the No. 1 issue. Wachs served on the council for 15 more years. He resigned effective 2001, and a city redistricting commission took the opportunity to propose a shakeup in boundaries, splitting the Second District in two. Before that could be considered, though, Wendy Greuel was elected to the city council. In March 2002, she reopened

854-553: Is little bare ground and streambeds have been transformed into concrete channels, and the water flows too fast in the upper reaches of the watershed to sink into the ground very much. As a result, the majority of the water is discharged into the ocean. In 1969, there was a flood in the Tujunga Wash. Water flowed down a formerly inactive channel and entered a large gravel pit 15 to 23 m (49 to 75 ft) deep. The channel bed degraded by about 4 meters (13 ft), leading to

915-475: Is met by Little Tujunga Wash a mile before reaching Hansen Reservoir, which is formed by Hansen Dam . Little Tujunga Wash comes from the north, draining the portion of the San Gabriel Mountains immediately north of Hansen Reservoir. Downstream of the dam, Tujunga Wash flows roughly south and is met halfway to its confluence with the Los Angeles River by Pacoima Wash , which drains the other side of

976-720: Is noted as having strong system of community leagues. The first community league in Edmonton (the Crestwood community league) was formed in 1917. Now there are 157 community leagues in the city (as of 2017) that are overseen by the Edmonton Federation of Community Leagues . In addition to Edmonton, other cities in Canada that have systems of neighbourhood councils include Greater Sudbury and Quebec City . Greater Sudbury formed its community action networks in 2001, when

1037-399: Is thought to relate to an ethnohistoric narrative, known as Khra'wiyawi, collected by Carobeth Laird from Juan and Juana Menendez at the Leonis Adobe in 1916. In the narrative, the wife of Khra'wiyawi (the chief of the region) is stricken with grief over the untimely loss of her daughter. In her sadness, she retreats to the mountains and turns to stone. It is this event that is thought to be

1098-623: The San Fernando Valley and the Los Angeles Basin freed it from some of the air pollution that was a problem in many other parts of Greater Los Angeles . Because of this, it attracted many asthmatics early on. In 1929, the Tujunga City Council set policy to establish zones where " sanitariums and other institutions for the care of tubercular patients" could be established. Most of today's Sunland

1159-749: The Tongva people . In 1840, the area was part of the Rancho Tujunga Mexican land grant , but later developers marked off a plot of land known as the Tejunga Park, or the Tujunga Park Tract. The name "Tujunga" (or Tuxunga) is assumed to have meant "old woman's place" in the Fernandeño language, a dialect of the extinct Tongva language , where tuxu , "old woman", is a term for Mother Earth in Tongva mythology . The term

1220-418: The 1920s was a place called "Dean's store, the locale of the 'Millionaire's Club of Happiness and Contentment', a little group of the town's pioneers that is featured in the writings of John Steven McGroarty". Tujungans led by McGroarty first wanted to become a city of the sixth class to be called "Verdugo Hills" in 1924, and a petition to that effect was submitted to the board of supervisors , which postponed

1281-572: The Council of Community Service. It had 45 rooms in a former hotel on 2.5 acres (10,000 m ) of land. just a block from Sunland Park. After Tujunga was organized as a city in 1925, a move sprang up in Sunland to be annexed to the new municipality, but the idea was rejected "by a heavy vote" in October of that year, and activists in the then-Monte Vista School District turned their attention to

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1342-579: The Sunland-Tujunga field office (closed by Wachs), and the redistricting plan was never heard of again. Greuel served until July 2009. She was succeeded by Paul Krekorian . In January 2009, hardware company Home Depot announced it was abandoning a five-year effort to turn a former Kmart store at the corner of Foothill Boulevard and Woodward Avenue, Tujunga, into a big-box store of its own. The Los Angeles Times reported: Opponents also mobilized hundreds of people to turn out for meetings on

1403-562: The basis for the village name. In fact, a large rock in Little Tujunga Canyon looks like an old woman in a sitting position. Sunland began as Monte Vista in 1885, when 2,200 acres (8.9 km ) of the Tejunga [ sic ] Park tract were divided into lots ranging from five to 40 acres (160,000 m ). One of the first uses of the new tract was the planting of 40 acres (160,000 m ) of olives, which made it

1464-617: The city limits of the greater city". The result was a legal dispute that had to be settled in the courts. The famous grove of oak trees, owned by the county, and widely known as the Monte Vista Park of Sunland, is involved in the dispute. The municipality of Tujunga has already agreed to release its authority over the park to the county authorities, so that administration. . . will continue for ten years without change, except as to police protection in event of disorders. The first election for Tujunga to be consolidated with Los Angeles

1525-436: The city of Edmonton , Alberta , became one of the first cities in the world to directly formalize social centers as a local government structure, when George Hall, a native of Providence , Rhode Island , who had been hired as the city's commissioner of industry in 1912, began implementing a local system of community leagues to assist in addressing the rapidly growing city's social development challenges. Edmonton , Alberta

1586-500: The community's needs and its views on governmental policies and issues, and direct participation in the management of neighborhood projects and facilities. Neighborhood councils do not have direct legislative power of their own. Neighborhood councils often act in concert with local schools , churches , political organizations, and recreational organizations in keeping all members of the community informed of current issues and activities. A typical neighborhood council executive comprises

1647-421: The community, and runs along a viaduct in the Verdugo Mountains . Today, the neighborhood has one major thoroughfare: Foothill Boulevard; nearly all businesses in Sunland-Tujunga are located on or near it. Tujunga Canyon Boulevard is a heavily traveled north-south route, but is primarily residential. Sunland Boulevard and Wentworth Street are popular surface streets that connect the community to Sun Valley and

1708-399: The councils provide can include meeting and recreation space for the members of the community, typically a community hall , an ice skating rink , a playground , and so on. Neighborhood councils can be found in many cities throughout the world, especially but not exclusively in large metropolitan cities. The concept is similar but not identical to neighborhood associations , in that while

1769-477: The county's highest. Sunland-Tujunga's reputation has changed over the years (see below) In the 1950s through the 1970s, the area was known as a "haven for asthma sufferers" and that it was "long noted for the beneficial qualities of its pure air" and had a "reputation as a health resort" or a "reputation for clean mountain air". Tujunga was seen as having a "near-Switzerland setting – high and dry". In 1957, Coronet called Tujunga "the most healthy place in

1830-404: The dust from the existing pit affected the area's reputation as a "haven for asthma sufferers". Attorney Peter R. Rice argued as a friend of the court that climate was more important than commercial mining operations. Los Angeles City Councilman Howard Finn of Sunland died in office on August 12, 1986, and his Northeast San Fernando Valley First District was left without an incumbent. At

1891-458: The end of World War I , hundreds of "rent-oppressed" people from Los Angeles did exactly that, and they built their houses with foundations fashioned from the "great masses of stones and boulders" that lay throughout the town. For the most part, the "Indian pueblo idea" was followed, or a "rustic hills" style, and homes without boulder foundations were rare. By 1927, Tujunga had about 4,000 residents, having surpassed Sunland in population. Many of

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1952-560: The failure of three highway bridges and the loss of seven homes. From north to south (with year built in parentheses): 34°08′42″N 118°23′20″W  /  34.1451°N 118.3889°W  / 34.1451; -118.3889 Tujunga, CA Sunland-Tujunga / t ə ˈ h ʌ ŋ ɡ ə / is a Los Angeles city neighborhood within the Crescenta Valley and Verdugo Mountains . Sunland and Tujunga began as separate settlements and today are linked through

2013-410: The final stretch of the 48.6-mile (78.2 km) freeway through Sunland-Tujunga was scheduled for dedication on April 3, 1981, with State Transportation Director Adriana Gianturco presiding. Exits in Sunland and Tujunga are, from west to east, at Sunland Boulevard, La Tuna Canyon Road, and Lowell Avenue (shared with La Crescenta ). The freeway's right-of-way almost completely bypasses the main part of

2074-451: The first orders of business for the new city of Tujunga in 1925 was an attempt to enlarge the municipality by taking in the foothills south and southwest of the new city, bounded on the east by the "La Crescenta Rancho line, south to Big Tuna Canyon" and west to the then-Los Angeles boundary and Wicks Road. The attempt failed because Los Angeles annexed the area first. Tujunga's 1,500-foot (460 m) elevation and geographic isolation from

2135-561: The former towns and cities of the Regional Municipality of Sudbury were amalgamated into the current city government, while Quebec City has had a system of neighbourhood councils, or conseils de quartier , since the early 1980s. In the United States , such councils are active in cities like Los Angeles, California ; Tacoma, Washington ; and San Diego, California . They are designed to include representatives of

2196-475: The idea indefinitely because of concerns about the proposed boundaries. Tujunga was nevertheless incorporated after an election on April 21, 1925, with the southern border following the Rancho Tujunga boundary. A. Adams was elected treasurer, and Mrs. Bertha A. Morgan was chosen as city clerk. Bolton Hall served as the city hall until Tujunga was consolidated with Los Angeles in 1932. One of

2257-802: The largest olive orchard in Los Angeles County. In 1887, the Monte Vista Hotel was being served by the Sunland Post Office. By 1906, the appellation "Sunland" was being used by the Los Angeles Times rather than "Monte Vista". A 1907 story noted that Sunland was the "first supply store, and a good one, about seven miles from the railroad" at San Fernando, at the mouth of the Little Tejunga and Big Tejunga canyons (the old spelling). In 1908, Sunland

2318-411: The mountains and turns to stone. It is thought this event became the basis for the village name. In fact, there is a large rock in Little Tujunga Canyon which looks like an old woman in a sitting position. However, there was also a Fernandeño village in the vicinity of Big Tujunga Canyon called Muxúnga , which means "place of shooting" in the Fernandeño dialect of the Tongva language . The name comes from

2379-535: The mountains that Little Tujunga Wash drains. Finally, Tujunga Wash meets the Los Angeles River near Studio City, California . Big Tujunga Dam was built by Los Angeles County and completed in 1931. Big Tujunga Reservoir can hold 5,960 acre-feet (7,350,000 m) of water. In the Los Angeles Flood of 1938 it was tested. The dam underwent a seismic retrofit , completed in July 2011, which included doubling

2440-483: The new Angeles National Golf Club is right in the middle of the wash. But, residents say there's trouble brewing in Big Tujunga. Homeless camps are big concerns for residents, who say they sympathize with the homeless, but say they drag in too much trash. Major cleanups were undertaken in the homeless encampments in the wash in 2015 and later, with tons of trash removed by volunteers and by city workers. One of them

2501-537: The place a stately quiet.. . . In the center of town the oaks are so thick that the sun is baffled, and this section has been made a public park, which is the Fourth of July and general hot-weather rendezvous of the country round, from Glendale to San Fernando. By 1923, Sunland had a population of about 2,000 and an active chamber of commerce . The sloping hills of what was called the Monte Vista Valley were

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2562-490: The process. The company paid $ 2 million to lobbying firms on behalf of the project. Beginning in 2010, news accounts began to highlight a homeless problem in the Big Tujunga Wash . As Channel 7 Eyewitness News put it: For years, the Big Tujunga Wash has provided a picturesque backdrop for local residents who enjoy the rare natural river bed that's perfect for hiking, jogging, or collecting butterflies. Also,

2623-441: The project, including a marathon seven-hour session that turned into a shouting match over day laborers and immigration. Home Depot, in turn, had retained a team of expensive lobbyists who arranged for buses to transport supporters to meetings at city hall. In 2006, one of those lobbyists sent a memo promising to feed and transport 150 people in orange T-shirts to a city council hearing, where they would appear in favor of Home Depot—at

2684-713: The rest of the city of Los Angeles. Sunland-Tujunga is also served by the Interstate 210 freeway. Big Tujunga Canyon Road connects Sunland-Tujunga to the Angeles Forest Highway , while La Tuna Canyon Road provides an alternate route into Sun Valley through the rugged portion of the Verdugo Mountains. Sunland-Tujunga has a hot-summer Mediterranean climate ( Csa under the Köppen climate classification ). Sunland and Tujunga were originally home to

2745-498: The same time, the City Council was under a court order to redistrict itself to provide more representation for Latinos . After a bitter contest in which Finn's semirural constituents fought against being combined with more built-up areas and amid traces of ethnic animosity, the result was to move the vacant First District seat into a redrawn, 69% Latino area north and west of downtown Los Angeles and to place Sunland-Tujunga into

2806-579: The settlers maintained small farms with gardens, poultry, rabbits, bees, and various other livestock. Tujunga was home to John Steven McGroarty , playwright, U.S. congressman, and California Poet Laureate . He lived in a home he built himself and completed in 1923, known as Rancho Chupa Rosa. The building is an Historic Cultural Monument (#63) of the City of Los Angeles and is now known as the McGroarty Arts Center. On Tujunga's main street in

2867-425: The shanty village has despoiled a public resource and subjected homes along Oro Vista Avenue to burglaries and the threat of violence, said Brian Schneider, who spoke for the residents. In 2009, the Los Angeles Times ' s "Mapping L.A." project supplied these neighborhood statistics based on the 2000 census, showing that Sunland, including Shadow Hills , had a census-measured population of 28,414 in 2000. Tujunga

2928-503: The site of vineyards for table grapes, and the town's sole industry, a cannery, specialized in packing olives from local trees. Monte Vista Park in the center of town attracted picnickers, with a county home for children, sponsored by women's clubs and other organizations. This charity was a descendant of the Monte Vista Lodge, a home for "undernourished children" organized by social worker Belle N. Hall and opened in 1921 by

2989-529: The southwest slopes of the San Gabriel Mountains a half dozen miles north of downtown Glendale. But hang out they did, in droves, and Tujunga developed an unenviable reputation as one of Southern California's premier "biker towns". In 2001, another writer called Sunland-Tujunga "part middle-class suburb, eclectic mountain hideaway, and rundown commercial strip dotted with biker hangouts". That same year, still another writer said this about Tujunga: Neighborhood council A neighborhood council (also known as

3050-477: The thickness of the gravity arch dam. Hansen Dam was built by the United States Army Corps of Engineers and completed in 1940. Hansen Reservoir can hold 74,100 acre-feet (91,400,000 m) of water. Their primary purposes are flood control , although they also provide some groundwater recharge . Water cannot percolate in the lower portion of the watershed because it is so urbanized that there

3111-561: The verb muxú, which means "shoot him." Tujunga Wash consists of two forks, both beginning in the San Gabriel Mountains . The upper portion of Big Tujunga Wash is called Tujunga Creek, or Big Tujunga Creek . It travels roughly east to west, and several tributaries from the north and south join it as it flows to Big Tujunga Reservoir, formed by Big Tujunga Dam . Below the dam, the stream is called Big Tujunga Wash. It continues its westward flow, enters San Fernando Valley and

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3172-887: The west and Tujunga on the east. Mount Lukens , located within Tujunga, is the highest point in Los Angeles, at 5,074 ft (1,547 m). By 1927, half of the streets had been paved, and a state highway ran through the town. Streets within the Sunland and Tuna Canyon annex to Los Angeles were renamed in June 1929. The main east-west road, previously known as Michigan Avenue, became Foothill Boulevard . Other streets were renamed as follows: Los Angeles Street to Apperson Avenue, Sherman Street to Hartranft Avenue, Center Street to Grenoble Avenue, North Street to Wentworth Avenue, Third Street to Woodward Avenue, and Hill Street to Hillrose Avenue. Sunset renamed to Commerce St. Manzanita Drive

3233-650: The world," and that publicity brought a flood of inquiries into the office of the Sunland-Tujunga Chamber of Commerce, hundreds a month. In 1963, the area was seen as "famous for its climate beneficial to asthma sufferers". By 1990, however, Tujunga had developed a reputation as a tough community and a center for biker gangs . As a Los Angeles Times writer put it: No one really knows why so many long-haired, bearded young men on motorcycles, aligned in groups with names like "The Devil's Henchmen", chose to hang out in this workingman's community perched on

3294-475: Was annexed to the city of Los Angeles, effective August 4, 1926. La Tuna Canyon was annexed in 1927. On June 23, 1927, the city of Los Angeles held an election for much of the same territory as claimed by Tujunga, above, and the annexation passed, "based largely on a big block of votes within an old-folks' home at Sunland, which can participate in the Community Chest funds when and if they are within

3355-535: Was 90% new to him, the councilman was warmly greeted when he arrived to meet his new constituents in a reception at the Sunland-Tujunga Municipal Building. He found an area with a down-home, rural flavor and about 30% of the voters in his new district. He told a reporter: There hasn't been one nasty person, one hostile ... They want to be friends.... In the second-largest city in the U.S., that you can have an area like this to live in

3416-506: Was delayed by inaction of state authorities. Tujunga abandoned its independence and joined the city on March 8, 1932. Tuna Canyon Detention Station was a temporary holding facility used for the internment of Japanese Americans during World War II in the Tujunga community of Los Angeles, California. Some Italian Americans, German Americans, and Japanese Peruvians were also interned there. From this detention station, prisoners were later transferred to permanent internment camps. In 1959,

3477-512: Was held on February 15, 1927. In heavy rain, voters turned down the idea by a vote of 594 to 354. A second election held in March 1930 also resulted in defeat for annexation, "by a large majority". John Steven McGroarty was on a committee opposing annexation called "All for Tujunga". The third and final election in January 1932 resulted in a vote to join Los Angeles, although the actual transfer

3538-419: Was referred to as difficult to access, at a height of 1,500 feet (460 m) "over rough mountain roads". An automobile trip from Los Angeles took "a long day" to complete. In 1910, a Los Angeles Times correspondent wrote about Sunland: The place is aptly named.. . . one gets no inkling of the beauties till he is right in the town. Great live oaks, scattered with Nature's reckless disregard for expense, give

3599-419: Was renamed McGroarty Avenue in honor of John Steven McGroarty , who lived nearby. In the 1960s, the Sunland-Tujunga Chamber of Commerce took an active stand in opposition to routing the proposed Foothill Freeway through Shadow Hills, Los Angeles , claiming the neighborhood's "rural atmosphere" would be destroyed and would wipe out 28 more homes than an alternate route. After years of discussion and delay,

3660-461: Was reported as follows: The cleanup — and summary eviction of as many as a hundred squatters — on 300 acres of private land a little more than a mile upstream from Hansen Dam was organized and financed by property owners of the Riverwood community of Sunland, a hillside enclave of about 35 homes whose residents come and go on a single road crossing the wash. Over the last three years, the growth of

3721-416: Was slightly smaller, at 26,527. In both Sunland and Tujunga, the percentage of White people was high for the county. The percentages of divorced males, married females, and divorced females were among the county's highest. Population (without Shadow Hills): 15,316. Median household income: $ 68,720, high for the city of Los Angeles, but about average for the county. The percentage of residents 25 and older with

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