ASK THE CANDIDATES

PERSPECTIVES ON HISTORIC PRESERVATION:
RESPONSES FROM CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATES

The Glendale Historical Society reached out to all candidates running for three open seats on the Glendale City Council. TGHS asked about the candidates' positions on important historic preservation issues affecting Glendale. As a 501(c)(3) non-profit, TGHS cannot endorse candidates, but it can provide information to help members make informed decisions. 

Please remember that March 3, 2020 is election day; voting takes place Feb. 22 - March 3. Your polling place has almost certainly changed; you can find more information at https://www.glendalevotes.org/ 

The eight candidates who have qualified for the ballot are:
Greg Astorian, Dan Brotman*, Paula Devine*, Vartan Gharpetian, Ardy Kassakhian, William Keshishyan, Leonard Manoukian, and Susan Wolfson*. Seven candidates responded to our questions. Click on the links below to view their answers. (Candidate name with asterisk indicates TGHS member.)

QUESTIONS

Q1:
Several large projects have recently been recommended and approved on the same lot and very close to historic resources. These include the two-story townhouses that will envelop a single-story 1910 Craftsman at 512 W. Doran and a three-story multi-family building that would surround a 1913 two-story Craftsman at 534 N. Kenwood. What kind of development do you think is appropriate around historic resources? How would you ensure that the mass and scale of Glendale’s historic buildings are respected?
VIEW RESPONSES>>

Q2:
A fully revised Historic Preservation Ordinance was introduced in Council in March 2019. However, several Council members declined to consider the revised ordinance in its entirety. Instead Council adopted only a portion of it, dealing primarily with illegal demolitions. If elected, will you vote to adopt the fully revised Ordinance? (Click here for a marked copy that compares the adopted demolition ordinance with the fully revised version.) If not, what are your objections to the fully revised ordinance and what are your specific suggestions for improving it?
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Q3:
Historic Resource Surveys are important city planning tools. The recent South Glendale Historic Resources Survey identified numerous historic resources, which provides more accurate information for planning staff and owners and a more objective and comprehensive basis for environmental review of projects under CEQA. If elected, will you support preparation of a similarly comprehensive Historic Resources Survey as part of the East-West Glendale Community Plan? If not, why not?
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Q4:
There have been several appeals to City Council of Design Review Board decisions involving what appellants criticize as “mansionization” in Glendale’s older neighborhoods, whether through demolition of existing houses and rebuilding at a much larger size, or through massive additions. What do the Design Guidelines mean to you? How do you propose they be used to protect the scale of older neighborhoods and ensure compatibility? Do you think changes to floor area ratio and lot coverage may be necessary to reverse the current trend?
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Q5:
There is currently great pressure, including state mandates, to increase housing densities around major public transit lines and stations as a way of addressing the housing crisis and fostering smart growth and sustainability. Often this upzoning is proposed to the detriment of historic resources within these areas and to the character of older neighborhoods. What would you would recommend to ensure that community values of historic preservation are respected while allowing for development to be focused at transit-oriented zones?
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Q6:
For years the City had a full-time Historic Preservation Planner, but this position became part time about five years ago, even as the number of historic resources in Glendale has increased exponentially. This understaffing has led to significant delays and frustration: for example, property owners report difficulty getting responses to questions about their historic buildings; the current timeline for creation of a historic district, from application to approval, appears to be approaching the four-year mark; almost a year and a half after the South Glendale Historic Resources Survey was prepared, properties are still not flagged as historic in the property portal. Given the value of historic resources to our City, the importance of clarity for property owners, and the CEQA implications of failing to ensure that resources are properly identified, would you support hiring a full-time Preservation Planner, and/or more qualified preservation planners, if elected? If not, how do you propose to address the problems we have identified?
VIEW RESPONSES>>