By Julie BUTCHER

During a special meeting of the Glendale City Council on Tuesday afternoon, representatives of the Montrose Shopping Park Association presented their annual work plan and budget. Business administrator and events coordinator Dale Dawson summed up some of the area’s iconic events aimed at drawing foot traffic to the shopping park: eight years of Wine Walks; the 14^th annual Kids and Kritters Day; the two-day outdoor Arts and Crafts Festival on the first weekend of June (this year marks the 42^nd year); the 24^th annual Montrose Car Show, as well as the weekly Harvest Market and other annual celebrations.

The association budget lists income anticipated at $590,000, fixed expenses at $284,000 and overall expenses of $635,000. There is currently a reserve of $336,268.

Dawson reiterated the request for the city to replace the trash receptacles and to enclose the trash bins in Municipal Parking Lot 7 as well as focus on improving pedestrian safety in the shopping park’s 17 crosswalks. 

“I tell you, no matter how they’re laid out, if you don’t make eye contact with oncoming traffic you’re taking your life in your hands,” said Dawson. He suggested added lighting, removing some of the stucco walls that impede visibility and changing signals. Incoming association president GiGi Garcia also highlighted the need for improved pedestrian safety including the possibility of creative crosswalks. 

At the afternoon meeting, the Council approved a draft request for proposal (RFP) for the operation of the tennis courts at Glorietta Park. Director of Community Services and Parks Onnig Bulanikian detailed the history of the concession contract. The initial RFP was issued in December 2024 for the operation of both city tennis court complexes: Glorietta and Fremont Park. 

The Council approved a contract award on June 10, 2025, contrary to staff recommendations. One of the vendors who was not selected threatened legal action based on the assertion that the Council evaluated the proposal based on criteria not delineated in the RFP. In September, the Council rescinded the contract and agreed to issue a new RFP.

The new RFP highlights the benefit of experience as well as seeking the most affordable, accessible tennis experience for Glendale residents.

Councilmember Dan Brotman spoke at the beginning of Tuesday night’s regular Council meeting. 

“I don’t normally like bringing up national issues that we don’t have direct control over but I do want to address what’s happening with immigration enforcement in Minnesota and also here at home,” he said. “It’s heartbreaking. It’s frightening and it’s hard to process what’s happening to us in this country. It’s hard not to feel rage. Renée Good and Alex Pretti were U.S. citizens, lawfully and peacefully resisting government overreach and illegality. Sadly, they confronted the tip of the spear of a regime that almost seems to relish violence and brutality. They did not deserve to die. And as if their deaths were not enough … now they need to smear them and their families with bald face lies. It sickens the soul.

“The masked men in body armor walking around with pepper spray in their hands, spraying people at point blank range, even people retreating from them, treating fellow Americans with such disregard. It sickens the soul.”

“While we’re not yet seeing a full paramilitary presence in our city,” Councilmember Brotman continued, “we are seeing people being snatched from the streets almost daily in what some are rightly calling kidnappings or disappearances. Most of these people are being picked up randomly because of where they work, the color of their skin or their accent. These are not – for the most part – the hardened criminals we were told existed.

“This isn’t the America whose flag we just saluted. This feels more like a dystopian America that I thought only existed in the movies. It’s not something I’m prepared to accept and you shouldn’t either.

“We will now conduct the business of the city because it’s what our residents need and deserve. But at least for me, this soundtrack of evil is consistently and constantly playing in the background and I’m not going to try to drown it out or ignore what is happening.”

Councilmember Elen Asatryan expressed agreement with the sentiments expressed by Councilmember Brotman, adding that Glendale has the largest per capita immigrant population of any city in California, “more than Los Angeles,” and the effects “have kept many of our communities in fear, especially for those of us [who] come from [other] countries – I know I heard my grandmother tell stories of people taken, never to return.” 

Asatryan offered a specific message of support to community members from Iran.

“These are the moments that bring us together, make us more united,” she said, adding a reminder “to be kind to each other because you don’t know what someone else is going through.”

Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian harked back to the 1970 Kent State shooting when “they shot and killed those innocent children, when federal troops, the National Guard, opened fire and four young children were taken from their families, college students who were protesting the Viet Nam War.”

“It’s an important duty of Americans to practice their First Amendment free speech rights to protest, whether they’re on the right side of the aisle or the left side of the aisle and I think it is the obligation of federal agents and government officials … to respect our citizens’ rights to be able to protest, observe, come [and] complain about us, write about us in their newsletters – with all sorts of caricatures – and make sure when we do disagree with each other, we do it without the risk of having any innocent lives lost,” Kassakhian concluded.

“No one deserves to die on the streets of this country. No one,” Councilmember Vartan Gharpetian said, adding that “the situation needs to be managed much better.” He added that the “incident happened during every administration since George Bush, senior.” During Obama’s presidency, he noted, “almost three and a half million people were deported, 50 or 60 people were shot – half of them died – and more than 50 people died in the custody of ICE, which is wrong. I don’t care which administration it is – this is wrong. I hope that our own city can stay together and not let this issue divide us.”

Mayor Ara Najarian reiterated his support for local law enforcement and moved on to announcements and events:

On Saturday, Jan. 31 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at the Brand Library, the city announces the opening night reception for the new exhibit, a love letter to Southern California, Neighborhood Ecology. For more information, see https://www.brandlibrary.org/upcoming-exhibition.

The Council approved an extension of its contract with Cedarwood-Young Company (the Allan Company) to continue to operate the Glendale Recycling Center for city-collected recyclables through March 2028, increasing the contract amount by $2,000,000 to $4,134,074.

The Council authorized a change to the downtown sign zone regulations to allow the Caruso Company to add digital, animated signage to the outside of the historic Masonic Temple building. 

Finally, the Council reluctantly approved final design specifications for a new mixed-use development consisting of 666 multi-family residential dwellings units, 16 live/work units, 1,515 square feet of retail/restaurant space on the ground floor and a 930-parking space garage at 236 N. Central Ave., the former Sears site.

According to the staff report, “On Dec. 30, 2025, the California Dept. of Housing and Community Development (HCD) issued a Notice of Violation, citing the City’s denial as a violation of the Housing Accountability Act (HAA) and found the project complies [with] General Plan and zoning regulations, satisfies all objective standards of the Downtown Specific Plan (except those lawfully modified under State Density Bonus Law) and was improperly denied without the required findings under the HAA.”

“I like in-fill housing,” Councilmember Brotman commented. “I always wanted to see this property developed. We need the housing. It’s just that we’re not getting the best product.” 

Brotman explained that the city had hoped the development team would see the benefit of incorporating the art deco façade, the potential for an iconic link between the past and the future. 

“They never were seriously open to exploring, [which] shows a lack of imagination,” he observed before the unanimous vote to approve the project.

Early in the evening meeting, children from the Glendale-based FIRST LEGO League robotics team were recognized for their accomplishments in advancing from regional to statewide competition. The two teams of 9 – to 14-year-old GUSD students are coached by Jilbert Dilanchian and Meher Khechadori. Run by Melineh Zohrabian, the local Tinker Club offers students hands-on experience in programming, problem-solving and teamwork.