Correction in bold below

By Julie BUTCHER

Dozens of Glendalians lined up to speak at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Glendale City Council urging reconsideration of the city’s inclusion of city-owned parking lots in its housing plans and calling on the Council to remove the parking lots from the state’s list of surplus land.

“These lots are not surplus – they are essential community assets, relied on daily by residents, seniors, small businesses and local families. Keeping these parcels protected is not just sound planning; it’s an act of respect for the people who built and sustain this city,” said Dennis Feitosa who called in to the Council meeting, sharing that he is a candidate for Congress. “CORO [City-Owned Residential Overlay] opens the door to development that does not reflect the character, needs nor will of this community.”

Rossmoyne/Mountain Homeowners Association president Lorna Vartanian also addressed the Council.

“As part of the city’s proposed updates to the Land Use Element, several parking lots adjacent to the Rossmoyne and Royal Canyon neighborhoods, as well as several parking lots in Montrose, have been slated for rezoning to allow high-density residential development,” she said. “These lots have also been placed on the state’s surplus land list, making them available for purchase or lease by developers. This is a clear signal to the community that the city supports residential development on these lots. Over the past several months, community members have repeatedly and clearly communicated that we oppose any zoning changes to these lots.” 

She urged the Council to act on this now rather than waiting until the spring, further noting, “The lots near the civic auditorium and behind the Armenian church are currently zoned as ‘open space – recreational’ – there is no requirement that these parcels be transitioned to development sites. As open space becomes increasingly sparse in urban areas, it is essential that we protect this rare zoning designation and ensure it is preserved for its intended purpose.”

“Tim” introduced himself as a relatively new three-year resident of the Rossmoyne neighborhood, with two small children.

“We love the neighborhood. It provides unbelievable value to our family and we think that adding high-density housing to the area will add traffic through Mountain Street that’s very dangerous near Nibley Park as well as at lights up and down Verdugo,” he said. “We are asking that you consider taking that off the table. As you know that neighborhood is kind of historic – we’ve committed to not changing the residential structures of the homes there and to add a significant structure of new homes goes against what the feeling of the neighborhood is — so we ask that you don’t do that.” 

Representing Glendale realtors, Greg Astorian recalled a recent poll commissioned by the downtown business association that showed that 48% of Glendale voters believe residential development is going “too fast.” Thirty percent felt the rate is about right and 18% deemed it too slow. 

The poll shows that, regarding commercial development, 49% of people think it is about right; 35% consider it too fast and 11% rate it as too slow.

Astorian cited statistics from housing policy and housing financing experts determining that using the growth metric of number of units per 1000 residents per year rates of 0-2 are considered very low or stagnant; rates of 2 – 4 are moderate/insufficient; and that 4-6 would be healthy, “necessary for stability.” California’s current rate using this scale is 2.5 and Glendale’s is 2.1, “just a tad above Burbank and Pasadena.”

Mayor Ara Najarian pointed out that if 48% believe growth is too fast that means 52% find it about right or too slow.

Paul Karapetian, board member of the Royal Canyon Property Owners Association, said, “For months now our homeowner associations – along with many others – have voiced our overwhelming opposition to the CORO and the designation of certain public parking lots as surplus land – five different associations, including the Montrose Park Shopping Association, have all voiced opposition to the plans to develop those parking lots into dense, affordable housing. In the case of the Verdugo lots, you’re taking land that’s zoned for open space and recreational use and zoning it for high-density housing. We’d like you to listen to the 5,000 petitioners who’ve signed two petitions and bring this back.” 

Councilmember Vartan Gharpetian asked that the matter be agendized for the next Council meeting, specifically calling for the removal from the CORO and from the state surplus land the list of parking lots 30, 31, 32, 34, 35 and lots 3 and 7 in Montrose. Mayor Najarian asked for historical records of previous plans developed for Montrose including his recollections of interest in creating opportunities for more robust foot traffic. The mayor also wondered if there is a property owners association in Montrose or just a business organization.

In other Council business, Councilmember Gharpetian queried city staff about actions that could be taken to alleviate complaints from residents of fast driving and marijuana smoking near a Kenneth Village parking lot near the intersection of Sonora and Grandview.

Gharpetian commended the Montrose tree lighting ceremony as another successful event, noting that his family has always attended “since the kids were very little; they’re not little anymore.”

Councilmember Gharpetian also requested a report on “condo fees” and possible incentives for the development of condominiums. 

Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian asked that the Council adjourn in the memory of Vanes Martirosyan, who was born on May 1, 1986 in Yerevan, Armenia, and grew up in Glendale to become one of Glendale’s few Olympians, a boxer nicknamed “The Nightmare.” Martirosyan represented the United States in the 2004 Olympics.

Mayor Najarian announced the lighting of the city’s Christmas tree, which is scheduled for Wednesday night, Dec. 3 starting at 6 p.m., just outside city hall in Perkins Plaza, 141 N. Glendale Ave. 

“There’ll be carolers and hot chocolate,” the mayor reported, and “You may even see Santa.”

On Saturday, Dec. 6 beginning at 7:45 a.m. Glendale Public Works Dept. and Caltrans have organized a community clean-up meeting at the Holly Drive off-ramp of the 2 North freeway. RSVP to join the effort by emailing AOganesyan@GlendaleCA.gov.

The Montrose Christmas Parade starts at 6:10 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 6, Mayor Najarian reminded, noting that the best seats are near Ocean View Boulevard and Honolulu Avenue. He added that folks can bring a chair and a blanket to enjoy the historic parade down Honolulu Avenue, which starts at Rosemont Avenue and continues to Verdugo Boulevard.

Finally, the mayor reported that the waiting list for Pioneer Village, which provides new high-quality affordable apartment homes for seniors and families on Pioneer Drive near Pacific, is open through Friday, Dec. 12. More information or to apply is available at https://nationalcore.org/communities/pioneer-village/.

Councilmember Elen Asatryan celebrated the city’s receipt of an EDDY Award from the Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation in the category of most business-friendly city and she urged residents to shop small and to shop locally – in Glendale and Montrose.

“Sixty-eight percent of every dollar spent at a local business stays in the community,” she noted.

Dr. Jackie Gish announced that the Glendale Environmental Coalition is hosting a webinar on Monday, Dec. 8 at 7:30 p.m. regarding the new air conditioning/heat pump ordinance. RSVP at  https://gec.eco/gec-ac-to-heat-pump-webinar/.

Gish further reported that 25 volunteers participated in a recent community clean-up around Fremont Park and that folks should be reminded to properly dispose of cigarette butts. Mayor Najarian suggested the city’s office of innovation take note of experiments in Denmark where crows have been trained to pick up butts and exchange them for bites of food. [According to the internet, a Swedish company called Corvid Cleaning is running a pilot program to train crows to pick up cigarette butts in exchange for food rewards. The project uses the crows’ intelligence to reduce litter clean-up costs, and the company believes it could lower costs by up to 75%. The crows drop cigarette butts into a special machine that dispenses a food reward for each item deposited.]

Early in Tuesday night’s meeting, the Council adopted a proclamation marking December as Elder Wellness and Connection Month, recognizing the lifelong contribution of older adults and the importance of promoting health and connectedness, highlighting programs that support active aging, reduce isolation and strengthen engagement between generations.

At a meeting of the Audits Committee on Tuesday morning, the Council reviewed and adopted an annual comprehensive financial report (ACFR) prepared as part of the city’s required annual audit.

As of June 30, 2025, the city shows $3.5 billion in assets and a net position of $1.9 billion, indicating overall financial stability. The city took in $995 million in revenue and expended $891 million during the fiscal year. Read the report at https://glendaleca.primegov.com/api/compilemeetingattachmenthistory/historyattachment/?historyId=748f344f-3b46-41f2-ad61-1aae3f64d118.

The Council will meet next on Tuesday, Dec. 9.