By Julie BUTCHER

Local residents who have been actively organizing against a proposed five-story, 87-unit multi-family residential development on Foothill Boulevard near New York Avenue were surprised when the item was pulled at the last minute from Tuesday night’s agenda of the Glendale City Council.

The project with the density bonus and project specifications sought by the developer was approved by the Glendale City Planning Dept. in hearings held in March and June. An appeal was filed by the Crescenta Highlands Neighborhood Association, supported by the Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council.

Glendale’s new director of Community Development, Rachel Friede Dimond, explained that the City received communications from the local water board “identifying issues relating to the terms of the clearance letter which were not outlined in the original clearance letter itself. The issue could impact the AB-130 CEQA exemption determination and we’re asking for a continuance to a date certain – Nov. 17 – to allow the applicant to work with the water board and for the City to further evaluate the legal implications.”

Opponents of the project have previously raised concerns about previous hazardous waste mitigation on the site as well as other concerns and have advocated for a complete environmental review of the development.

The council finalized plans for Beeline bus service improvements previewed in July with council comments and suggestions incorporated into the plans that notably include a pilot testing expanded evening bus operating hours. 

Glendale’s Beeline bus operations served 1.2 million passengers in FY2025-26, City staff reported. A five-year review focused on increasing ridership and improving overall productivity with a focus on sustaining ridership growth seen during the pandemic years. 

The upgrades are predicted to add 113,000 additional boardings at a cost of $2.8 million, funded from the City’s Transit Utility Fund, not from the general fund. 

Mayor Ardy Kassakhian wants to explore incentive programs specific to Glendale residents – a gold ticket program that could possibly offer unlimited bus trips and other local benefits – and the mayor also wants to see a rebirth of local public transportation opportunities, such as the Red Line buses that used to operate along Glendale’s streets.

Senior Legislative Advocate Kyra Ross from the lobbying team of California Public Policy Group updated the council on this year’s efforts in Sacramento. Of the total 1,846 bills introduced this year, 1,040 were signed into law. Governor Gavin Newsom signed his last bill on Sept. 30.

Housing topped this year’s issues, Ross told the council, along with wildfire prevention and liability, climate and water issues, and public safety. 

The most recent state budget includes $500 million in low-income housing and tax credits, $200 million for multi-family housing production, $900 million in programs to address homelessness, $1 billion for high-speed rail, and $1.15 billion in increased funding for CAL FIRE.

Ominously, the state’s Legislative Analyst’s Office has warned that “the underlying budget condition is not sound.”

Glendale has received $71,000 for a HeloPad to expand water resources for aerial firefighting and enhanced wildfire response time and $150,000 toward the police department’s Substance Abuse & Wellness Resource program.

Anticipating a new administration and new leadership, the City’s lobbyist predicts more housing legislation; a continued focus on fire safety and wildfire liability; work on enhanced public safety retirement benefits; regulations and constraints on the use of automatic license plate readers; controls on AI and data centers; and potential film and television tax credits.

In response to proposals to decrease the public safety retirement age from 57 to 53 and enable local negotiations on enhanced retirement benefits, Councilmember Dan Brotman expressed concerns serious enough “to make our voices heard on this and forget the politics.”

“If this passes and the next governor signs it … we need our legislators to understand that this will have serious effects on our ability to provide basic services and even to fill positions in our fire department when they become vacant,” he said. “We might not be able to afford to replace those people because of these changes.”

The cost of the retirement benefit enhancement has been estimated at $370 million for public safety personnel employed by the state of California.

“Cities don’t want to upset their firefighters,” the lobbyist said, then explained how the enhancements passed through the state legislature unanimously.

On Tuesday night, Glendale proclaimed the week of Oct. 18 – 24 as United Against Hate Week, “reaffirming our commitment to fostering a community in which diversity is valued, differences are respected and every person has the opportunity to live with dignity, safety and belonging. This observance encourages residents, community organizations, education institutions, businesses and civic partners to reject hate and intolerance, promote understanding and compassion and advance safe welcoming neighborhoods and schools.”

The council commended the organizers of the city’s inaugural Cultural Festival and recognized Oct. 14 as Sister Cities International Day and shared video highlights from the event. These highlights can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WMoQZqQ5p_M.

Southern California Sister Cities International state representative Elena Galvez thanked the council “for your outstanding leadership and commitment to fostering peace through mutual respect, understanding, and citizen diplomacy.”

Councilmember Vartan Gharpetian reported on attending this year’s Howl at the Moon Comedy Night, a fundraiser for the city’s K-9 program. 

“It was a blast!” said Councilmember Gharpetian who also recognized the 50^th anniversary of the Glendale Galleria and commended those predecessors who had the vision to green light the shopping center that “put Glendale on the map” and attracts more visitors than Disneyland.

Glendale will honor its veterans with a ceremony at the headquarters of the Glendale Fire Dept. at 421 Oak St. (parking will be available across the street in the Glendale Galleria parking structure) on Wednesday, Nov. 11 from 11 a.m. – 1 p.m. 

As part of its ongoing commitment to recognizing local veterans, the City of Glendale invites veterans and their families to participate in an online Glendale Veterans Tribute, a special webpage highlighting the service and contributions of veterans in the community: https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/office-of-the-city-manager/communications-community-relations/veterans-day.