April's elections to the City Council
One of the biggest news topics of 2007 already began to heat up in the latter half of 2006: the upcoming elections.
Several candidates have already announced their intent to run citing traffic congestion, overdevelopment, enforcement the city's hillside ordinance, more respect for property rights and more civil City Council discourse as reasons for their runs.
So far, John Drayman, president of the Montrose Shopping Park Assn., and Glendale Unified School District trustee Greg Krikorian have announced their hope to gain seats in the April 3 election.
Up for grabs will be seats occupied by Mayor Dave Weaver and Councilman Rafi Manoukian.
If it's anything like the last municipal election, it's going to be a busy time.
Drayman, a leader in the Montrose business community for years, narrowly lost a bid in 2005, and Krikorian hopes to use his experience on the school board as an asset in the campaign.
Of course, they'll have to convince voters they have more to offer than incumbents Weaver and Manoukian.
The fireworks have already started. Issues such as the development of condominiums and a school in the Mountain Oaks area have already touched off significant debate.
Flower St. crossing a hot topic this year
Debate over a proposed railroad crossing at Flower Street is another hot topic to watch in the coming year — perhaps as soon as January.
For more than a year, homeowners on Pelanconi Street have urged the city to back off of a proposal to build an at-grade crossing at nearby Flower Street. They worry about safety hazards— especially in the wake of the Metrolink train collision near Chevy Chase Drive that killed 11 in January of 2005 — noise pollution and heavy traffic in the residential area, which they say the crossing would create.
Not so, say proponents of the crossing, such as the city of Glendale, local business leaders and the Walt Disney Co., which is developing its Grand Central Creative Campus across the tracks from the residents.
They see the crossing as vital for business in the area and better access to the other side of the tracks.
The Pelanconi Estates Homeowners' Assn., the city, Disney and the Public Utilities Commission have been meeting in December in a mediation process in search of ways to make the proposed crossing safer, if the crossing is to be built at all. The parties are waiting on presiding Judge Maribeth A. Bushey to issue a ruling on the crossing.
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