Debate Over Height Limits on Foothill Buildings Continues

Officials met with residents on Wednesday night to unveil details of the North Glendale Community Plan, which would serve as a guide for residential and commercial development in Montrose, La Crescenta and Verdugo City. Read what was said at the meeting, then weigh in with your own comments below.

Details of the N. Glendale Community Plan

In favor of reducing height limits on Foothill Boulevard:

"When you drive down or up Foothill Boulevard, you see the mountains, and when they put 30- and 40-foot buildings up we're not going to be able to see. We like the rural and don't want it to grow out of that. I'm pro-growth, but keep it at a minimum, keep it sensible."

-Sharon Thompson, La Crescenta resident

"I've been part of the advisory committee for this, and primarily I got involved over concerns of the heights of the buildings on Foothill Boulevard. ... The original code allows 50-foot buildings to be built on Foothill Boulevard, but the reason they prevented that is because of the Design Review Board. ... I like the community the way it is and don't want to bring huge buildings up like we have in downtown L.A. I think there's a place for that, and I don't think this is the place for it."

-David Gardner, La Crescenta resident

"Height on Foothill, that was a sticking point, that still is a sticking point. But I live down here in Montrose, so it's not a huge thing for me personally."

-Roberta Medford, Montrose resident

In favor of keeping or increasing the 50-foot limit on Foothill Blvd. properties:

"I've been going to a lot of these meetings and unfortunately we don't have enough private property owners here that own commercial property. The restrictions on commercial property will ruin and will cost them financially, so it's in their interest to have been here or in their interest to go to Planning Commission hearings because this will change everything. ... This plan may make it where it stays very restrictive and where they'll always have to go someplace else to get better prices instead of just mom-and-pop-type of stores—nothing wrong with mom-and-pop because I'm mom-and-pop also, but you don't have any vortex of energy that will create people coming to Foothill Boulevard. ... A lot of the people that aren't at these meetings will continue to go to Glendale, will continue to go to Pasadena."

-Rick Barnes, Glendale-based commercial real estate broker

"I am for the higher limits in the main corridors like in Foothill. ... I would go even higher, maybe to 80 feet. The main corridors I'm talking about—Foothill and Honolulu. We have to think for 50 years to come. It's not just a 10- [or] 15-year plan. There is no doubt there will be more population, we have to think about that. Obviously traffic is a problem, that's why I'm more in favor of expanding public transit."

-Aspet Davidian, former Glendale Planning commissioner and construction project manager for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Comments from City Officials:

"In terms of the difficulty that lies ahead ... there are areas that we still have some dissension between viewpoints, so we have competing interests. ... We've heard the dialogue, we know where the differences are, and the best thing we can do is now provide options that cover that. The zoning and the height issue on Foothill is probably the place where we cannot get agreement because obviously the interests vary. There are those who may not want to see any change, and the people who hold property on Foothill, may have a different viewpoint. ... Really, the best thing we can is try to make sure that all of the viewpoints are expressed ... and let the decision-making authorities review that and decide."

-Hassan Haghani, Glendale director of community development

"We've heard what people are saying, and height seems to be a big issue, so it will be interesting to see how it's presented to us to be resolved. We make determinations based upon input from both the planning staff, the community and what's good zoning practice, and we have to maintain an open mind while we're listening because somebody in the meantime between this and our hearing could come up with a great idea. If we've already preconceived our idea, we're not going to hear that."

-Stephanie Landregan, Glendale Planning commissioner

"This is an evolving, breathing, living plan. Once it's implemented, that's when the tweakings, the adjustments, those would all come in. That's what the beauty of this plan is."

-Greg Astorian, Glendale Planning commissioner

"It's great to see so many members of the community really engaged in developing this plan, and this plan is a true grassroots effort from the community. It's long overdue to have this kind of a strategic plan for the area."

-Laura Friedman, Glendale mayor