Sunland Ca

Sunland-Tujunga, long known as Los Angeles' rural outpost of craggy canyons, secluded houses, horse trails and a onetime motorcycle gang hide-out, is in the midst of an identity crisis: Build a Home Depot or shop at a mom-and-pop hardware store? Hilltop McMansions or open space? Support a revitalized main street or promote more tract home developments? "It's at a crossroads," Councilwoman Wendy Greuel said of the 6-mile-long, 2-mile-wide community cradled between the Verdugo and San Gabriel mountains.

At the northern tip of the Crescenta Valley between the San Gabriel and Verdugo mountains, communities still take pride in living close to the land. An annual highlight is the Sunland-Tujunga Watermelon Festival, which starts Friday.

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed a motion Wednesday to stop the so-called mansionization of the Sunland and Tujunga areas of the San Fernando Valley.

The Los Angeles City Council delivered a setback Tuesday to Home Depot, voting to take up the hardware giant's hotly contested proposal to open a store in the Sunland-Tujunga section of the San Fernando Valley.

Planning commissioners Thursday canceled a hearing on a proposed Home Depot in Sunland after more than 400 people jammed a Van Nuys hearing room and blocked exits and aisles.

Forget the talk about traffic, zoning and even day laborers. At Los Angeles City Hall, the fight over a new Home Depot may boil down to a single question: How many lobbyists will it take to open one hardware store in the San Fernando Valley? Home Depot's push to expand into Sunland-Tujunga might seem like the most local of controversies, one pitting a retail chain against angry neighbors worried about blight and congested streets.