Design discord on the boulevard

If the project moves forward as directed by the review board, the new structure is expected to dwarf and conflict with its neighbors in the unincorporated portion of the boulevard, since the city of Glendale and residents of La Crescenta appear to have very different opinions of what is aesthetically pleasing.

Although Raghavachary and Crescenta Valley Historical Society representatives Stuart Byles and Mike Lawler advocated for a design that would fit in with the community’s Spanish heritage or a Craftsman design, both of which would be in accordance with the CSD, Laura Friedman, a review board member and self-proclaimed historian, told the three, “I could not disagree with you more strongly I’m very disappointed.”

Friedman scoffed at promoting what she called “fake Spanish the design of an El Torito’s restaurant” and what amounts to “a Craftsman ride at Disneyland.”

“If you think this is bad, wait till [the architects] come back with a three-story Craftsman,” she said, adding that if the La Crescenta residents “make the mistake to try and force [architects] to build in a fake historic style I will fight you at every turn.”

Friedman, and subsequently the rest of the board, directed property owner Farshid Khosravi, architect Varoozh Saroian, and Rodney Khan, a land-use consultant with Khan Consulting Inc., to “not work on anything that copies the past” but work on a structural design that “reflects modern architecture.”

And, though a few of the board members said they weren’t sure about the massive size of the design, Friedman said she wasn’t convinced the project wouldn’t be able to pull off a third-story, providing the designers “pierce the building and give people back some of the view” of the mountains.

“If you really want to get a three-story building there, you need the ‘wow’ factor,” Friedman said.

The board also suggested the applicant meet with neighbors and re-work the landscaping design, in part because one neighbor told the board he’d rather have a block wall separating the project from his home than the proposed plantings which, he contends, could encourage transients to make a home there.

Khan thanked the board for its “good direction,” and promised that he and the property owner will “do our best” to address concerns.