By Julie BUTCHER

At the beginning of Tuesday’s meeting of the Glendale City Council, Mayor Paula Devine commended city staff for the recent holiday tree lighting and invited everyone to visit the Christmas tree in the courtyard of city hall. She also shared that the Democratic Party is holding a clothing drive at the Adult Recreation Center at 201 E. Colorado St. to support the locally unhoused and was collecting products on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Socks, hooded sweatshirts, toothpaste and toothbrushes are all needed and can be dropped off outside the center.

“It is the season to give, the season of hope,” said the mayor.

Dr. Jackie Gish called in to the council meeting challenging the council’s conduct of last week’s hearing overturning the Planning Commission’s denial of a conditional use permit (CUP) for a plant to capture biogas produced by the Scholl Canyon landfill. Gish stated that she and the Glenoaks Homeowners Association believe the hearing process was unfair and biased toward Glendale Water and Power (GWP).

Before hearing a yearly and periodic financial report, city staff announced the retirement of Finance Director Michelle Flynn after nearly 22 years of service. The financial audit that is required every year gave Glendale a glowing report, finding “no significant deficiencies.” Finance Dept. staff reported that for FY 2020-21, actual revenues were $9.2 million higher than budgeted while expenditures were $9.4 million lower than anticipated.

Mayor Devine questioned whether the city’s current reserve of 36% was excessive; “Cities around here are running at 12%,” she said.

When the council reviewed an expenditure for $250,000 for COVID testing, councilmembers asked about the compliance mandate of city employees who must either show proof of vaccination or take weekly tests. The city is currently only testing 200 of the estimated 400 workers who have either refused to be vaccinated or have not provided documentation of their vaccination status. That means that 25% of the city’s approximate 1,900 full and part-time employees remain unvaccinated.

“It doesn’t sit that well with me,” said Councilmember Dan Brotman, “that our taxpayers are having to spend money on tests for people who won’t get vaccinated.”

HR director Matt Doyle explained that there were “logistical issues” testing police officers. Mayor Devine suggested establishing one day and place for all the testing.

“Why are we bending over backward to accommodate these people?” asked the mayor. “If they’re not vaccinated, this is when the testing is and, if you don’t come to work, you don’t get paid.”

She also asked if the city has to pay for the tests. The city attorney answered that if the city requires the test, it must pay for them and that the city would also be required to pay employees for the time required to be tested.

Next, the council adopted an urgency ordinance setting interim guidelines for new housing construction encouraged by California’s Housing Opportunity and More Efficiency Act (HOME) and bills passed by the state legislature that Glendale staff and elected officials are concerned usurp the authority of local governments. In response to the statewide legislation, the council unanimously approved objective local standards requiring a minimum internal setback of four feet, the payment of development impact fees (DIFs), one parking space per unit (no parking spots are required if the property is within one-half mile of a high-quality transit corridor, major transit stop or one block from a car share).

The splitting of properties allowed by SB 9 would be prohibited by Glendale’s ordinance in the presence of a guest house; SB 9 units would not be permitted between residential dwellings and either street fronts or street-side setbacks; covenants for reciprocal use agreements would be required for access, drainage, utilities and parking; short-term rentals would be banned; and mandates for owner-occupancy would “be enforced to the fullest extent.” Accessory dwellings (ADUs and JADUs) would count toward the maximum of four homes on any split lot.

Councilmember Ardy Kassakhian questioned estimates that there would only be 1000 market-feasible units potentially created in Glendale by these efforts. Additionally, Councilmember Ara Najarian clarified that properties in designated historic districts are exempt from the laws.

Councilmembers noted they have received calls and emails from residents concerned about narrow streets in high-risk fire areas. Glendale Fire Dept. Chief Silvio Lanzas told the council that although 60% of Glendale is situated in a high fire danger zone, the danger is mitigated by everything done to prevent and fight fires. Callers into the meeting also asked that the city reinstate previous building standards for slopes more than 50% or that require the moving of more than 1,500 cubic feet of earth.

Next, city manager Roubik Golanian detailed plans for changes to city management: current acting Chief Information Officer Jason Bradford will head a new combined department of Finance & Information Technology. Chief Lanzas will become one of two assistant city managers tasked with overseeing city operations in addition to his regular duties. With the retirement of HR director Matt Doyle, Golanian proposed to modernize the role to include developing citywide strategies for recruitment. The annual cost of the executive management re-organization is $139,000 and will net savings of $617,000 per year.

“Bold move,” Mayor Devine commented after the vote.

The council moved on to approve a Mills Act agreement for the Calori House at 3021 E. Chevy Chase Drive. The city’s Historic Preservation Planner Jay Platt shared details about the home, built in 1926 and designed by Lloyd Wright, commonly known as Frank Lloyd Wright Jr.

“It’s a pretty fantastic house,” Platt told the council. “Subtle, but really interesting. It’s a combination of Spanish Colonial, Art Deco and something very unique to Wright’s style.”

According to California’s Office of Historic Preservation, “The Mills Act is the single most important economic incentive program in California for the restoration and preservation of qualified historic buildings by private property owners. The Mills Act Program is administered and implemented by local governments. Mills Act contracts are between the property owner and the local government granting the tax abatement.”

The council heard an update on the city’s transit electrification study, conducted along with Pasadena and Burbank. A consultant from CALSTART explained the steps necessary to replace the city’s compressed natural gas vehicles with zero-emission electric buses.

CALSTART describes itself as “a national nonprofit, founded in 1992, to accelerate clean transportation.”

California’s Air Resources Board’s Innovative Clean Transit regulations mandate that small transit agencies, such as Glendale’s Beeline, fully electrify by 2029 with at least 25% of new buses being electric by 2026.

“There are many benefits to zero tailpipe emissions because these pollutants are harmful to public health,” the consultant told the council. While the estimated cost to electrify the entire city fleet is expected to top $48 million, the city has plans in the works to purchase five new 35-foot electric buses.

Councilmember Najarian reported that LA Metro set a goal of being totally electric by 2030 but is unlikely to meet that goal given the complexities of the effort. Metro has rolled out electric buses on certain lines and the rapid bus planned to run through Glendale will be provided by 60-foot articulated electric buses.

Finally, the council okayed preliminary plans for remodeling the children’s and teen areas of the Central Library. Library head Dr. Gary Shaffer detailed plans and shared renderings for a bright, inviting area that “will encourage children and their families to use library services.” Plans include a separate reading room, a children’s workroom, a lactation room, two large family restrooms, benches for families and younger children in an early childhood area, and a separate teen space complete with a new recording studio.

“This is very exciting and totally overdue,” Councilmember Kassakhian said. The design is expected to be completed by the end of January and the overall plans will cost between $4 and $5 million.

Councilmember Najarian expressed frustration with past remodeling projects.

“Once bitten, twice shy,” he said. “I want a project manager on this like a hawk. Not like we did a $20 million renovation and ended up with a leaky roof and torn carpets.”

“It looks very nice,” he added of the plans, “and very expensive.”