Differentiating Local Needs

Thank you to the CV [Weekly newspaper] for raising a question that is so important to so many people in our community.

One point that needs to be emphasized is that Glendale is not Santa Monica or La Cañada.  Every proposed development is different, raises different issues and deserves to be evaluated on its own merits. Our city government should not assume that every instance in which a project is denied will automatically result in a losing court battle. That kind of thinking only encourages overdevelopment and weakens meaningful local review.

Dr. Balekian’s reference to the [Glendale] City Council approving up-zoning on Irving Avenue and granting a developer with connections to Rick Caruso a larger project than was even required is exactly the kind of practice that must stop.  Residents deserve confidence that decisions are being made in the public interest, not because politically connected developers are receiving special treatment.

We absolutely need more affordable housing in Glendale but what we continue to see proposed is primarily market rate housing that does little to address the real affordability crisis facing working families, seniors and younger residents trying to stay in the city.  

I also want to comment on Patrick Murphy for saying that Glendale should join forces with other cities to work with Sacramento whenever possible but also not hesitate to legitimately litigate if Sacramento refused to work with local communities.  Cooperation should always come first but cities should not simply surrender their ability to advocate for responsible planning and local concerns.

Thank you again for opening up this important discussion.

Alina Zehnali
La Crescenta

Council Candidates Address Housing Concerns

Thank you to the CV Weekly for asking the [Glendale] City Council candidates about housing policy, one of the most important issues facing Glendale residents. I also appreciate the candidates for offering candid, detailed responses to an issue that affects so many of us.

Several candidates spoke as though Glendale has little choice but to accept nearly every large development because of Sacramento mandates. While state housing laws are aggressive, Glendale is not Santa Monica or La Cañada Flintridge, and each project has its own concerns. Our city should not automatically assume that every denied proposal will result in a losing court battle.

Alex Balekian raised an important concern regarding the Irving Avenue project approved by the city council. A parcel that otherwise would have supported a much smaller development received an extraordinary density bonus for a politically connected developer. Whether residents agree with every aspect of his argument or not, many share the concern that politically connected developers appear to receive special treatment. That perception damages public trust.

Beth Brooks also made an important point: Glendale does not simply have a housing supply problem – it has an affordability problem. Residents need genuinely affordable housing, not endless luxury market-rate apartments.

Patrick Murphy was also correct that Glendale should work with other cities to push Sacramento for more flexibility and local control. Cooperation should come first, but cities should not hesitate to litigate if the state refuses to recognize legitimate local concerns.

Glendale residents deserve thoughtful planning, transparency, affordability and accountability from their elected leaders.

Roxanne Myers
La Crescenta

Climate Change Affects All Life

We continue reading about the effects of human-caused climate change, yet our actions to address it are falling short and some of us continue ignoring climate scientists. 

As we humans dominated nature for centuries, we destroyed the basis for life for countless other species – plant and animal. We have gone so far in our effort to treat Earth as nothing but a resource that we threaten our own existence.

In 1624 John Donne wrote, “No man is an island, entire of itself: every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main…” What Donne may not have known is that “the main” includes all life, not just humans. We do not exist apart from nature. We could not have risen to our current level of consciousness without all the other life we grew up with and depended upon. We must respect the needs of our fellow species, plant and animal, or our own species will not survive what we have done and are doing to Mother Nature. 

John Hamilton
South Bend, Indiana