Greg Astorian

This development project received an administrative exception and was never brought in front of us on the planning commission (I am a current Planning Commissioner and former Chair). I state this because, in the past – either when approving and recommending historical districts, and or encouraging and adopting ordinances that will protect historical assets- we, the planning commissioners, en masse, have been enthusiastic and have voted as such to preserve and protect our historical treasures.

It seems design review board has required that utmost care to be exercised in relocating the craftsman (Condition 2 of the decision). Of course, conditions without subsequent enforcement are just words. It should be up to the City to rigorously see to the enforcement piece of the equation, in this and other cases.

In regards to size and scale of a development, either immediately adjacent and or on the same lot as a historical asset, utmost care must be exercised to respect the historic resource. Who best to define utmost care? Well, how about the Historic Preservation Commission.

Dan Brotman*

Historic preservation is beneficial for Glendale and it needs to become a more carefully considered component in our city planning.

Glendale’s historic properties not only enhance the appearance of our city but teach us about important people, events, and engineering achievements that brought us to where we are today. By retaining those properties, we are able to understand how our community developed over time and be better prepared for future changes.

I joined The Glendale Historical Society within months of moving here. Over the years I have written numerous letters to City Council and spoken at several public hearings against proposals that would demolish historic resources, as well as in favor of strengthening the City’s Historic Preservation Ordinance. I enthusiastically supported the creation of the Niodrara Drive Historic District where I live because it is important to establish local districts and designate individual properties. Historic districts allow residents to preserve the character that drew them to an area in the first place while effectively managing the inevitable change.

There is no either/or choice between historic preservation and housing. For example, the recently adopted South Glendale Historic Resources Survey found only about 400 of the approximately 9,000 properties constructed before 1979 to be historically significant.

Glendale needs development, in particular affordable housing near transit, but it must be smart development that respects the City’s heritage. We must preserve and adaptively reuse the relatively few historic properties that remain to convey the story of Glendale, both to us and  to forthcoming generations.

Paula Devine*

I believe that appropriate development around historic resources would be projects that comply with the requirements outlined in the above referenced TGHS newsletters.  These requirements set forth the following design, construction and legal standards:

1. The size, scale, mass and design of the proposed development must respect the historic building(s) with which they share the site.

2. Performance standards must be written and approved which include: (a) Moving and restoration plans; (b) Methods of protecting the historic building from the construction that is going on around it; (c) Mitigation measures that will be used to minimize or avoid aesthetic and/or structural Impacts on the historic resources.

3. The development project must comply with all CEQA and Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation requirements.

I would ensure that the mass and scale of Glendale's historic buildings are respected in three ways:

1. Require that any projects concerning historic resources, for which discretionary approvals are needed, be reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission in addition and prior to any other Board, Commission or the City Council.

2. Implement a code change that codifies the above requirements.

3. Require either a full EIR or a Focused EIR in cases where there is disagreement among experts as to the impact of a project on the integrity of a historic resource.

Vartan Gharpetian

We need to avoid developing around historic properties as much as the State laws permit. In the last 4 1/2 years, we had two appeals in similar situation. When I was a Commissioner on Historic Preservation Commission, we were always told that if there is going to be a development close to a historic resource, it is better to have a different design so the historic resource would stand out and show well.  I believe that is what we tried to achieve with these two projects. At the end of the day, these historic resources were preserved and that was important to me.

Ardy Kassakhian

Much more must be done to protect historic properties throughout Glendale. As City Clerk I have been a first-hand witness to the decision-making process by this and previous councils when projects such as these have come before them. Unfortunately, too often the decisions are made not on the merits of the specific historical resource or the project but on the basis of who is presenting or proposing the project. The arbitrary approach must be brought under control by clear guidelines. The type of developments that are appropriate around historic resources are the ones that incorporate the resource into the overall use. Glendale Heritage Garden is a perfect example of an adaptive reuse of a historic home into a local neighborhood park. Another great example is the E.D. Goode House which is just down the street from where I grew up. As a child I remember the house looking like the home from the Munsters TV show. It was dilapidated and behind a chain link fence I was always worried the house would be torn down. It is so great and pleasing to see it restored today and used by residents of the property even if it is not directly open to the public.

The first step to ensuring the mass/scale of Glendale’s historical structures is respected is having a definitive list of what is historic and still standing as well as what will be historic in the coming years.

William Keshishyan

Glendale is a city with a very rich history. With every generation that inherits this, comes an immense responsibility to protect and preserve what has been handed down to us for generations to come.

Over the past forty years, developers have had their eye on Glendale due to its proximity to downtown, clean and safe streets, and beautiful landscapes as well as its prospect of growing to be one of Los Angeles' most desirable neighborhood cities. I believe that the character of a historic building should not lose its luster to new development that overpowers or captures the historic nature of it.

In the end, we all know that no city's efforts can freeze time and development completely but what we can do is preserve what we find to be important to our city's history for the future generation to come. Much of the East Coast has done this and today, many cities have become open-air museums for locals and tourists alike. Let us make that same effort here, preserve what we have today and work to make smart decisions about development that won’t take away from our common heritage.

Leonard Manoukian

No Response.

Susan Wolfson*

My position is that historic resources need to be protected from development of the type proposed in both of these projects. Both projects involve demolition of key portions of the structures, which is unacceptable. Both projects call for construction of large new buildings on the same lot which will dwarf the historic buildings and hide them from view. In fact, the only effective way to protect that mass and scale of Glendale’s historic buildings is to preserve them, as is, in situ. This requires us to reject proposed projects of this type and find ways in which Glendale’s historic architectural resources can be repurposed that will allow the property owner to use the structures without destroying their historic value. Projects such as these can be situated on lots where no historic resources are located – surely such properties can be located rather than destroying our precious historic architectural resources. Unfortunately recent bills passed in our state legislature make this more difficult for local agencies. However I believe that the job of leaders is to advocate for the better interests of their constituents even when that advocacy requires strong and innovative action.