Week in Review

A five-month investigation culminated in a 33-count criminal complaint filed Thursday in Glendale Superior Court by the Glendale city attorney accusing the owners of a Montrose apartment complex of retaliatory actions against tenants and failure to pay relocation fees.

The complaint stems from several complaints by tenants of 2121 Valderas Drive, a 104-unit building undergoing a $2-million renovation at the hands of its Beverly-Hills-based owner Starpoint Properties, LLC.

Starpoint purchased the property in March for $17 million and began construction to upgrade the units.

The work, which residents said made their units uninhabitable — coupled with raised rents and an illegal attempt by Starpoint to evict 20 residents — motivated tenants to show up at City Council meetings to lambaste the property owner and ask for city assistance.

 Facing strong community opposition to his plan to bring an orthodontist to the 2200 block of Honolulu Avenue, embattled property owner Bruce Meyer has withdrawn a variance application that would have allowed the doctor to join the predominantly retail-oriented strip.

But Meyer hopes his decision to withdraw the application shows that he’s sensitive to community concerns.

The Montrose Shopping Park Assn. officially opposed the idea of bringing in a medical tenant to a ground-floor storefront because it would conflict with the area’s retail-specific zoning

Community activist Herbert Molano has dropped his $1-million civil lawsuit against Councilman Dave Weaver for allegedly impeding upon his 1st Amendment rights during a city meeting.

Filed Jan. 2, the suit claimed Weaver, who was mayor at the time, improperly blocked Molano from rebutting his comments during a June 13, 2006, City Council meeting.

Two days later, Molano filed a $1-million claim against the city, which was denied, setting the stage for the lawsuit.

 A potential legal showdown between the city and the owners of The Montrose Collection, who have been charged with violating zoning laws for operating their restaurant primarily as a banquet hall, may be avoided if a proposed settlement is accepted, attorneys said.

Citing an ongoing settlement discussion, attorneys would not disclose the terms of the proposal.