By Mary O’KEEFE

Glendale Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian had his weekly Coffee Hour on Friday from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf in Montrose.

The meeting is a time to talk to Kassakhian and ask questions about a variety of issues. On Friday many who joined the councilmember for coffee had questions about the updating of the Glendale General Plan.

The General Plan is a state requirement for all cities and counties in California. The plan is to establish “a citywide vision and consistency direction for future development. It reflects community priorities and values and includes supporting goals, policies and implementation measures to achieve the community visions,” according to the Glendale City website, glendaleplan.com.

Most of the questions concerned how the General Plan, when approved, would affect Montrose and if Montrose could possibly be excluded from the plan, which may include a housing development in a nearby City-owned parking lot.

Kassakhian took note of all of the comments and questions and said he would research many of the concerns. He did remind everyone the General Plan is a state-mandated process and that he would like if cities, like Glendale that have put a lot of effort into updating transportation and increasing housing would have those efforts considered, especially when other cities have not done nearly as much.

Kassakhian will host another Coffee Hour at Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, 3701 Ocean View Blvd. in Montrose, on Friday, Aug. 22 from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.

  Mary Okeefe