By Julie BUTCHER

The chambers were packed on Tuesday night as the Glendale City Council welcomed consuls general from the six nations with which Glendale boasts 11 sister city relationships.

“These partnerships are more than ceremonial,” Mayor Ara Najarian said of the program. “They represent real connections between people, with students, artists, educators, business leaders and families who learn from one another and share their cultures. Sister city relations remind us that diplomacy does not only occur in national capitals. It also happens in cities like Glendale where people come together in friendship and mutual respect.

“Glendale itself reflects this global spirit. Our communities include residents whose heritages trace back to Armenia, Mexico, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, the Caribbean and many other parts of the world. This diversity is one of our greatest strengths and our Sister City Program celebrates that.” 

Sister Cities Program coordinator, Senior Administrative Analyst Ani Avanesyan shared an annual report on the revamped program. Added details can be found at https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/office-of-the-city-manager/glendale-s-sister-city-program.

Also on Tuesday night, three honorees received Mayoral Medals of Honor for their distinguished community service: the Portos family; Phoenicia Restaurant owner Ara Kalfayan; and ABC7/KABC-TV president and general manager Wendy Granato, who thanked the Council for the recognition.

“We hope we are as good a neighbor to you all as you are to us,” Granato said.

The Council heard a quarterly finance report and an updated five-year fiscal forecast, slightly improved based on budget tightening within each department as well as some updated financial assumptions.

Director of Finance Jack Liang shared a brief economic update and the FY2025-26 Q2 report. As of December 2025, real GDP (Gross Domestic Product, which is the total dollar value of everything a country produces in goods and services) growth in the U.S. was 2.20%; in California, it was 3.40%. Unemployment in California was 5.50% compared with a national unemployment rate of 4.40%. Annual inflation nationally in 2025 was 2.70%, 2.30% in California.

The process for adopting next year’s fiscal budget starts on April 15 with the release of the proposed budget. Four study sessions and budget briefings will happen from mid-April through May with a final budget adopted by the full Council on June 23.

The Council voted to distribute a $10,000 donation from the Los Angeles Dodgers toward senior programs.

An RFP for curbside electric vehicle (EV) charging stations on public property was issued following a report from Clean Energy Officer Ruzan Soloyan. 

Northwest Glendale Homeowners Association Coordinating Council Representative Allan Durham announced a forum for Glendale City Council candidates that is open to association members and non-members. It will be held on Thursday, March 26 at 7 p.m. in the Brand Library Recital Hall, 1601 W. Mountain St. Twelve candidates have qualified for the June 2 election, Durham reported. Further information about the candidate forum is available at www.nwglendaleha.org.

The annual Cherry Blossom Festival will be held at the recently renovated Shoseian Teahouse on Saturday, April 19 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. with a full day of free activities including martial arts, a kimono booth, Japanese music, dance and calligraphy. Information and tickets for tea ceremonies are available at https://www.glendaleteahouse.org/tickets/march-2025-cherry-blossom-festival-jyyka.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Council debated adding several items to upcoming agendas for future consideration.

First, the Council debated a request to agendize a discussion of sending a letter to Metro requesting further environmental review of the pending transit project, the North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT, considering the potential impacts of SB 79, the statewide law passed to encourage increased housing density along transit corridors.

Councilmember Vartan Gharpetian was asked to recuse himself from the discussion because he leases office space in a building on the BRT route. Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian recused himself because his home in the city’s Pelanconi neighborhood abuts the route.

Council candidate Patrick Murphy criticized the recusals as inappropriate “given the threat that the entire city faces from SB 79 in conjunction with the BRT.” 

“The full council – and by extension the voices of all Glendale residents – should be heard on this threat,” he said.

Murphy shared information he learned at Monday’s Fremont Park BRT outreach meeting. According to Murphy, Pasadena has no dedicated bus lanes, and was involved in early environmental scoping meetings.

“It appears their discussions have protected them from SB 79,” he said. “Why weren’t we involved in those early discussions? 

“I also learned that Burbank is insisting on the performance of a supplemental EIR due to the impact of SB 79 in conjunction with the BRT. Both Pasadena and Burbank have cooperative agreements with Metro. Glendale does not. Why not? Burbank and Pasadena are going to be reimbursed costs. We are not, as of yet. It’s very late, perhaps too late, to have any impact on the proposed plans. Frankly, you have failed the residents of Glendale and you need to make up for it.” 

Glendalian Fernando Roldan called in to the meeting. 

“May I remind the gentleman and my fellow people of Glendale that as a person with disabilities we need some of the structure of SB 79 in order to make sure there are bus routes included in residential neighborhoods so that some of us in wheelchairs, with walkers and canes, and those who are blind can go anywhere through town.” 

Roldan added that big events are coming up in the region – the 2028 Olympics, the World Cup, the Super Bowl – and that people might want to travel by bus to attend those events.

City Attorney Mike Garcia indicated that a cooperative agreement was pending and that it might be “even more protective.”

Garcia acknowledged the general notion that projects that affect the entire city should be decided by the entire Council – he likened the question to that of the Verdugo Wash in scope but also cautioned that the state’s Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has strict rules that define conflicts of interest.

Mayor Najarian added the purpose of conflict-of-interest laws is to protect the public from elected officials who may be influenced by financial interests.

Councilmember Dan Brotman clarified that regulations are state, not local, requirements.

Councilmember Elen Asatryan still wants a new EIR although she advocates a collaborative approach to working with Metro to ameliorate the potential negative impacts of SB 79 implementation. 

“I completely understand concerns about SB 79,” said Councilmember Brotman. “It is existential, certainly to large parts of the city, and I made my objections to it clear last week when we were talking about SB 79. At the same time, I don’t want to undermine the most important transit project to come our way in decades. We want good quality transit. We need good quality transit.”

Rather than sending a letter that has already been answered, and which would be “purely performative,” Brotman advocated for a “full-court press” to exempt the BRT from SB 79. 

“The problem is not the BRT – the problem is SB 79,” he said, suggesting lobbying the governor and the Southern California Association of Governments board (the agency which will be designing the maps implementing SB 79), anybody carrying clean-up bills, the county, perhaps joining with the other cities along the corridor and making an even stronger effort “behind the scenes.”

The Council agreed to agendize further discussions of the local implementation of a new checkbox on city forms to gather demographic information on the city’s Armenian population, in anticipation of the statewide implementation of legislation (AB 91) that will capture more detailed data starting after the 2030 census. 

Councilmember Asatryan requested the Council action in light of Glendale having the “largest population of Armenians outside of Armenia and the largest population of our own residents here in Glendale.”

Also on Tuesday afternoon, the Council debated consideration of legislation defining Glendale as an “ICE-free zone.”

“An increasing number of cities in California are passing ordinances which they’re calling ‘ICE-free zones,’” she said, “zones basically that would restrict immigration enforcement or prohibit immigration enforcement on city-owned property – offices, parking lots, parks.”

Mayor Najarian opposed the notion, saying that it would not be in the best interest of the city to adopt an ordinance that would prohibit federal agents from doing their jobs. 

“Federal law enforcement plays a legitimate and important government function. ICE operates under federal law enacted by Congress and, while we may have disagreements as to proper training, the facilities that they hold detainees at, I think we should be very cautious before we take action that obstructs federal agencies from carrying out their lawful duties,” he said. “It also risks placing the City of Glendale in unnecessary conflict with the federal government. Our role is to provide services, maintain infrastructure, to ensure the safety and well-being of our residents. Turning our city facilities into battlegrounds over federal policy takes away from those responsibilities.” 

Councilmember Kassakhian responded that this is a “very binary position.” 

“I personally am not supportive of the immigration enforcement actions the federal government [is] doing and how they’re being carried out,” he said referencing “miscarriages of federal law being carried out by this agency, including incidents that have resulted in violence and the loss of life. Let’s not be blind to the fact and try to do ideological gymnastics.”

“I also don’t necessarily see how creating an ‘ICE-free zone’ makes the situation any better or is enforceable,” Kassakhian said indicating he is willing to entertain the discussion even though it may only be a gesture, preferring instead a better symbolic act to show “our disagreement with what is happening.”

The Council will meet next on Tuesday, March 24.