CITY HALL
Galleria planning a multi-million face lift
Glendale Galleria is planning a multi-million-dollar renovation project at the mall, city officials said.
General Growth officials will come to the city in the next two or three months with a $30-million renovation proposal, Yousefian said.
* City staffers have begun preparing an environmental review on the Downtown Specific Plan, a blueprint for future development in the heart of Glendale.
Planning Department officials will hold a public meeting next Wednesday to receive comments on the proposed plan, which would establish new standards, requirements and incentives for future developers in the Downtown Specific Plan area.
The plan would provide incentives for more mixed-use residential and commercial development downtown; set height restrictions on buildings; and look at improving transportation infrastructure.
Next week's meeting will take place at 5:30 p.m. in room 105 of the Municipal Services Building, 633 E. Broadway.
* The Armenian Cultural Foundation is seeking permits to build a three-story, 9,500- square-foot youth center next to St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church in downtown Glendale.
The project, which would occupy a vacant lot next to the St. Mary's Armenian Apostolic Church on Chestnut Street off of Central Avenue
The city's zoning administrator will hold a public meeting on March 8 to consider the application, which requires a variance to allow the community center in a multi-family residential zone. The project would also require a parking reduction permit for its proposed 35 parking spaces, which is less than half of the 79 spaces required by city code.
PUBLIC SAFETY
Police nab alleged holiday tree arsonist
Police arrested a Glendale man Wednesday who allegedly confessed to setting fire to the city's 30-foot-tall Christmas tree on Friday because he was upset about receiving a parking ticket.
Bruce Morrison, 52, was arrested Wednesday after an investigation that began Friday night, when fire officials were alerted by police dispatchers who noticed flames rising from the Civic Center's Parcher Plaza.
By the time firefighters arrived, they found the city's Christmas tree completely enveloped in flames. A witness provided police investigators with the description of a man who fled the scene of the fire in a blue pickup truck.
