CITY HALL
There wasn't much to see at City Council Chambers on Tuesday night — namely not much of a City Council — on a night when views were a big item on the agenda.
Only three of the five councilman showed up at the meeting and one left early, forcing the meeting to be cut short.
The adjourned meeting prompted dozens of Glendale residents, who nearly filled the chambers to discuss a proposed view protection ordinance, to go home disappointed.
They will now have to wait until March 27 to see what the council wants in the proposed ordinance. Creating a view protection ordinance has been at the forefront of many homeowners' concerns, with the issue coming up at multiple city meetings.
City staff members had a presentation ready for Tuesday's session, but it could not be completed.
Shortly after city Planning Department officials began their presentation on view protection at about 6:30 p.m., Councilman Bob Yousefian announced he had to leave early in order to make an appointment. Councilman Rafi Manoukian also was absent.
Now that the commission — which has the final say on any new railroad crossings in the state — has given its approval, the city can move forward with its design plans.
Commission staff members had previously opposed the crossing, citing safety issues with design, but withdrew their opposition in December — much to the dismay of the Pelanconi Estates Homeowners Assn., which has vocally challenged the project. The association's concerns included train noise and heavy traffic cutting through their neighborhood from Glenoaks Boulevard and other major streets to get to the crossing, which will be an access route to Disney's new Grand Central Creative Campus.
Glendale city officials said they have made improvements to the design of the crossing to make it safer. They plan to use technology such as specialized warning signals and gates around the crossing, something crews will also begin work on at other city crossings.
Having another crossing in the area will also help make the area around Flower Street safer by opening up another way for emergency vehicles to get across the tracks, officials said.
