CITY HALL
City Council revisits long running hillsides debate
The City Council may finally make a decision on controversial
aspects of the city's Hillside Ordinance.
At Tuesday's meeting, Councilman Gus Gomez introduced an ordinance
that will prohibit development on lots with a slope greater than 67%
and limit building size in the hillsides to 25 feet, or 28 feet if
the house has a sloped roof.
The council has discussed these issues six times this year alone,
and the introduction of the ordinance means that there will be a vote
Nov. 30. But two council members, Mayor Bob Yousefian and Councilman
Rafi Manoukian, said they oppose the changes, and the ordinance needs
approval from four of five council members, so the changes are
unlikely to be approved.
At Tuesday's council meeting, about 40 residents spoke out on the
topic. The city's homeowners associations pushed for approval of the
changes, while developers, architects and owners of vacant lots
argued against the new ordinance.
The hillside ordinance dominated discussion at the council
meeting, but a less controversial topic could have a more significant
effect on Glendale residents.
* The council accepted a donation of 12,500 Armenian-language
books for the Glendale Public Library from the American Armenian
International College, quadrupling the size of the library's
Armenian-language collection. Library officials said some books will
be in circulation within six months.
SCHOOLS
City, school district to join forces again
The Glendale Unified School District and the city of Glendale are
at it again. Instead of trying to buy up land for new park space, the
city and the district will work together again to remodel eight
elementary and middle school campuses so the public can enjoy
playground equipment, open fields and shady seating areas after
school is out for the day.
The schools that were proposed for remodeling were Dunsmore,
Fremont, Mark Keppel, Franklin, R.D. White, Marshall and Muir
elementary schools, and Wilson, Toll and Roosevelt Middle schools.
The estimated cost to renovate those eight campuses is $9.7 million,
but city officials want staff to go back and research whether a pool
can be built on Roosevelt's campus.
During the same meeting between the two agencies this week, city
officials also showed interest in loaning the district $1.3 million
to put artificial turf on Glendale High's Moyse Field. The district
would pay the city back with the tax revenue it expects from the
