The earliest record we have found of a neighborhood association being active in Laurel Canyon is from 1922, when on July 8 the LA Times reported on the formation of the Laurel Improvement Association.
Its purpose was to convince the LA County Board of Supervisors to impose zoning regulations on the Canyon, which neighbors feared was at risk of over development.
On November 30, 1930, the LA Times reported on the formation of the Laurel Canyon Association.
It was formed to take official action on projects that concern the general welfare of the community, which the article states was comprised of more than 750 families at the time.
Over its history, the Laurel Canyon Association has at times been referred to as the Laurel Canyon Area Association.
Within three months of its formation, the LCA joined forces with the Nature Club of Southern California to sponsor California wildflower day in Laurel Canyon, as reported by the LA Times on February 22, 1931.
Preparation of the ground and planting of the seed was supervised by the esteemed native plant authority, Theodore Payne!
In 1957, members of the Laurel Canyon Area Association joined hundreds of other hillside residents in a traffic safety campaign to promote safer driving on canyon streets. Laurel Canyon residents gathered at the entrance to Laurel Canyon with signs encouraging drivers to "Slow Down and Live!"
In 1959, the Federation of Hillside and Canyon Associations (founded in 1952 and known among friends as the Hillside Fed), sponsored a brush clearance project covering the Santa Monica Mountains from Hollywood to Brentwood.
Many Hillside Federation member organizations, including the Laurel Canyon Association, participated in this effort.
The LCA remains a proud member of the Hillside Fed to this day!
Over the years, the Hillside Federation has continued to advocate for the protection of property and quality of life for the residents of the Santa Monica Mountains. The preservation of the natural topography and wildlife of the mountains and hillsides for the benefit of all people of Los Angeles remains their focus to this day.
For example, in 1970 the Hillside Federation was active in a successful effort to stop development of the Laurel Canyon Freeway, which the LCA supported.
In October of 2003, the Laurel Canyon Association merged with the Lookout Mountain Alliance, another local neighborhood association that had taken the affirmative step of filing for incorporation with the California Secretary of State in January of 2000.
The merged organization retained the name Laurel Canyon Association. The step of merging with an entity registered with the Secretary of State elevated the LCA from an unincorporated association, which is akin to a club, to a separate state-recognized legal entity.
In 2016, the LCA launched a two-year fundraising campaign dubbed “Let’s Buy a Mountain” in association with Citizens for Los Angeles Wildlife (CLAW). The effort successfully led to the purchase a 17.3-acre mountain ridge in Laurel Canyon for $1.6 million to set aside for permanent land preservation.
The parcel lies between Lookout Mountain Avenue and Stanley Hills Drive and more than 400 people donated to the effort.
The current LCA board met for a photo opp at 2243 Laurel Canyon Boulevard in late 2018, shortly after the LCA successfully facilitated acquisition of the property by its sister organization, the Laurel Canyon Land Trust. This was part of a settlement with the owner of the adjacent property to make this land permanent open space.
The LCA continues to advocate for land preservation and other issues in Laurel Canyon that affect our community.
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