Sunroom Desk

More than 200 Crescenta Valley stakeholders and residents have signed a petition opposing the building of a three-story mixed-use retail, office, and medical office building on the south side of Foothill Boulevard in the Highway Highlands area. Has anyone determined a need for a big medical office building in the area? No resident adjacent to the property wants a three-story building there.

The proposed design is incompatible in design and scale with the surrounding one-story businesses on Foothill itself.

According to the petition:

The terrain in the area slopes downward toward the south making the proposed design appear even larger from backyards downhill below it. There is no transition zone between the C-3 commercial zone and the R-1 single-family homes, so special care needs to be taken to preserve the neighborhood atmosphere.

While the current zoning allows for 50 foot tall three-story development, it is not in keeping with the character of the existing buildings along this commercial corridor. There are very few two and three-story buildings in the area and almost all are on the north side of Foothill Blvd. which slopes upward toward the San Gabriel Mountains.

During their December 8, 2008 meeting, Glendale’s city council members approved funds to create a North Glendale Community Plan for possible adoption within one year. This is a great step at the right time. Residents and business owners spoke during the meeting, stressing the unique character of the Highway Highlands area and stressing that its rural, open character should be preserved.

One problem with setting design guidelines and a community plan for the area is that the Highway Highlands (or “Balcony of Southern California,” or La Crescenta area), encompasses four jurisdictions, with North Glendale being only one segment.

As far as this project goes, after two redesigns the Crescenta Valley Town Council Foothill Design Committee that developed the La Crescenta-Montrose Community Standards District determined that it was too large and not compatible with adjacent structures. The Community Standards District is awaiting final approval from the LA County Board of Supervisors and is already being studied by the Glendale Planning Department. It will go back to the Design Review Board shortly. The Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council supports the North Glendale Homeowners Association in opposing the project.

With the poor economy, and another very large medical building already under construction in Montrose just a few miles away, a question should be addressed beyond design review: Why allow another large, mixed-use, retail, office, and medical office building to be built at this time?