By Julie BUTCHER

“Glendale’s greatest strength is in the beauty of its residential communities, the naturally exquisite mountains, along with a lively civic district. Charming neighborhoods are a big draw to Glendale. That’s why I moved here,” said Kathleen Clark of the Bellehurst Hillslopes neighborhood to the Glendale City Council at its Tuesday night meeting. On the council’s agenda was approving strict measures to deter the illegal demolition of historic resources. “[These neighborhoods] create a general sense of contentment while offering respite from the mayhem of urban life, traffic and so much cement. Charm comes with good planning, however, and hasty growth fosters chaos.”

Clark went on to outline how the demolition deterrence measures would be a “huge improvement” over existing regulations, giving the City and builders essential structure and guidelines.

“They don’t prohibit growth but are vital to sensible and sustainable planning,” she said. “Unpermitted remodels, additions and demolitions unnecessarily expose workers and those near a site to immediate and long-term hazards. They create inconveniences to residents and often cause harm to the character of a neighborhood. The proposed measures give the City much-needed tools to shepherd good planning.” Clark urged the council to bring back the other portions of the historic preservation ordinance still pending “for adoption as soon as possible.”

Steve Hunt, president of the Glendale Historical Society, also spoke in favor of the changes.

“We have over 800 members, many of whom moved to Glendale because of the character and charm of our historic houses and neighborhoods. Our members were very upset by the illegal demolition of the 1420 Valley View house and I’m here to urge you to adopt the demolition deterrence ordinance that you’re considering tonight,” said Hunt.

Michael Morgan, Historic Preservation commissioner and president of the Historical Society of the Crescenta Valley, similarly encouraged the passage of the “strongest demolition deterrence ordinance as part of the revised historic preservation ordinance.”

“You’ve heard the ‘whys,’ but I’ll give you my take as a Glendale historian,” said Morgan. “As you know, we’re all here for a very short time. You, as our city council, are elected to be good stewards of our city, not just fiscally, but historically also. That means not just now but what we pass on to our children.”

Historian Mike Lawler echoed Morgan’s comments.

“I’m from north Glendale, La Crescenta, and I work with the historical society and write a column for the CV Weekly. I hear from a lot of people in north Glendale and there’s not much else that makes them angrier than the illegal demolition of historic structures, particularly Craftsmen homes. I mean, that’s our heritage here in Glendale.” Lawler finished his comments referring to an “ugly rumor.”

“So there’s an ugly rumor that Glendale doesn’t always support historic preservation. But I’m sure your vote here tonight will prove that rumor wrong.”

“The ugliest of rumors, I must say,” Mayor Ara Najarian responded. “This council has been very proactive in historic preservation since we started the process at least 15 years ago. We’ve kept Jay Platt [the City’s historic conservation planner] busy, up to his eyeballs in work, for the longest time.”

After hearing from several additional speakers supporting the measure, the demolition deterrence ordinance passed unanimously. No speakers opposed the changes.

Following last week’s discussion about significant changes coming to next year’s elections, including a detailed presentation from Los Angeles County’s voter registration staff, City Clerk Ardashes “Ardy” Kassakhian proposed a series of actions and outreach plans aimed at educating local Glendale voters about the changes in advance of the 2020 elections, including mailers, media outreach, social media engagement, and deploying a team of canvassers available to help local voters.

“Given the number of things the County is trying to do, we have great faith in their ability to conduct the election,” Kassakhian noted, “but in Glendale people are accustomed to a little bit more personalized service, whether that’s coming into a police community room and having someone available there to explain the process to them, maybe translate it into Armenian for them.”

Councilmember Vartan Gharpetian summed up the significance of the changes coming.

“Everything is new. The voting centers will be new. They’re not called precincts anymore; they’re voting centers. The way you vote is different,” Gharpetian said. “We have to put most of our efforts into social media and TV advertising. Also that video that was shown here last week [https://youtu.be/fC_-8Nl-O3U] shows how to vote with the new devices.”

Mayor Najarian shared his ongoing concerns about educating voters regarding their rights and choices, wanting to make certain voters are not intimidated by campaign workers. He requested support from the rest of the council to explore a campaign ethics pledge, such as is used in other cities, as well as a lobbyist registration process.

In other news, the Glendale Youth Orchestra will end its 30th season on Sunday, May 19 at 7 p.m. at the Alex Theatre with a celebratory concert curated by famed conductor Brad Keimach, retiring after 40 years. The concert features numerous orchestra alumni, many Crescenta Valley High School alumni, as well as 2019 concerto winner CVHS junior Jaimie Yoon who will perform Mendelssohn’s violin concerto. Tickets are available at the Alex Theatre https://www.alextheatre.org/.

Councilmember Paula Devine announced a workshop on Wednesday, May 29 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Glendale Community College to solicit input on changes to the Hollywood-Burbank Airport as it plans a 14-gate replacement project.

The Council recognized public works week, bike month, the winners of the 50th annual bookmark contest, and police week, including Peace Officers Memorial Day on May 15 to honor those “who have made the ultimate sacrifice,” Mayor Najarian said.

The future of Glendale’s dockless scooter pilot program is scheduled for a vote on next week’s daytime council agenda. Agendas and documents are at https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/agendas-minutes-8996.

  Julie BUTCHER