GHCC hosts the first of these forums tomorrow:

Glendale Homeowners’ Coordinating Council City Candidates Forum
Wednesday, February 18, 2009, 7-9 p.m. (Doors open at 6:30 p.m.)
Glendale Central Library Auditorium

GHCC connects 20 neighborhood groups throughout the city, offering a vital information and support network. This council and its members are a great resource for Glendale residents, and the forums are a great way to get to know people in the community and deal with neighborhood concerns. Information about each member group will be available at the GHCC forum.

Additional candidate forums hosted by GHCC member groups are listed in this blog’s Glendale Community Calendar section, and here below:

Royal Canyon Property Owners Association City Council Candidates’ Forum
Saturday, February 21, 2009, Noon-2 p.m.
Oakmont Country Club

Chevy Chase Homeowners Association Candidates Forum
March 11, 2009, 6-9 p.m.
Chevy Chase Country Club

Verdugo Woodlands Homeowners Candidates Forum
March 27, 2009, 7-8:30 p.m.
First Congregational Church, 2001 Canada Blvd.

Northwest Glendale Homeowners Association City Council Candidates’ Forum
April 2, 2009, 7-9 p.m.
Brand Park Auditorium

There are several other homeowner groups, including Adams Hill, College Hills, Far North Glendale, Montecito Park, and others. For a complete list, go to the GHCC forum tomorrow and stop at the information table.

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?

He finally asked around and found out that permits were being issued by the City Engineer’s office instead of by the Planning Department.

This was after he explained that Glendale’s zoning code requires a conditional use permit for wireless telecommunications equipment installation. That is, if the installation is applied for through the Planning Department for any residential zone in the city. The relevant section of the code is here on page 5 of the .pdf file.

A conditional use permit requires a public hearing, which is indicated by the “C” in the table on page 5.

However, a permit issued by the City Engineer’s Office, for installation of equipment on city property (parkways are city property), requires no public hearing and presumably very little notice. I haven’t heard back from the City Engineer’s Office yet, so I can’t explain their procedures.

What seems clear from explanations already provided is that both T-Mobile and the city are defining parkways as separate from their surrounding residential zones, in order to avoid going through the Planning Department process and holding a public hearing.

The zoning map of Glendale does not show parkway/city property separately from the surrounding R1 and R1R zones near Cumberland Road. T-Mobile and any city staff who have directed cellular antenna applications to the City Engineer’s Office are maneuvering against the straightforward intent of Glendale’s municipal code.

At the December meeting of the Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council, two representatives from northwest Glendale presented neighbors’ actions to date to prevent an antenna from going up on the parkway of 509 Cumberland Road.

At this point, Glendale property owners must ascertain if other conditional use permits have been applied for and/or approved in Glendale for installation of antennas in residential neighborhoods.

A coalition of neighbors near the Cumberland Road site were temporarily successful in halting the antenna’s installation.

If others go up all around the city it will be difficult to stem the tide. The city itself needs to form a firm policy immediately, and to discover if any permits have been issued which may conflict with such a policy.

Sponsored by the Glendale Homeowners’ Coordinating Council

Auditorium
Glendale Central Library
222 Harvard Street