The Glendale City Council considered the 710 extension issue again at their Jan. 27 council meeting and will be participating in the new Community Based Transportation Coalition. I appreciate that Councilmember Paula Devine voted with Councilmembers Friedman and Najarian to have Glendale work for a more responsible transportation policy. I hope we don’t need to wait for the projected 2016 publication of the final environmental document with the selection of the preferred alternative before money can be directed away from the massively risky and expensive tunnel option to multi-mode solutions.

Please continue to monitor the Stopthe710 Yahoo group, No710.com, and/or the No 710 Extension group Facebook page for the latest information and community discussion about this project.

On Jan. 22, Susan Bolan was re-elected as president of the Far North Glendale Homeowners group and will also serve another year as our representative to the Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council. Ms. Bolan is also on the No 710 Action Committee and has been instrumental in keeping the public informed of developments on this issue.

There is a new 30-unit townhouse development proposed for the property at 4201 Pennsylvania Ave. where a 30-unit townhouse project was turned down by the Glendale City Council in October 2013. It had been approved by the Design Review Board including a Mitigated Negative Declaration environmental document. The project, which had several three-story buildings, was appealed by members of the Crescenta Valley Community Association due to its lack of compatibility with the neighborhood, particularly the single-family, one-story homes to the west.

The current design is scheduled for presentation to the Design Review Board at its Feb. 12 meeting, which will be held in room 105 of the Municipal Services Building, 633 E. Broadway. The plans plus the planning staff’s analysis and recommendations will be made available online roughly one week prior to the meeting. The public can make comments to the DRB in person during the meeting or ahead of time to Roger Kiesel, the planner assigned to the project.  He can be reached at (818) 548-2140 or rkiesel@glendaleca.gov.

Glendale Beautiful and the City of Glendale Community Services and Parks Dept. invite everyone to the Arbor Day 2015 event at the Casa Adobe de San Rafael, 1330 Dorothy Dr. in Glendale on Tuesday, March 3. There will be coffee and light refreshments starting at 10 a.m. followed by brief remarks and presentation of certificates to those who have donated a tree for the city’s parks or library grounds. If you would like to donate a tree in honor or memory of a loved one or for a cause, there is a form available on the city’s website, www.glendaleca.gov/home/showdocument?id=19892 or contact Roberta Medford at rmedford@ucla.edu.

While we’re still absorbing all the changes resulting from last November’s general election, we have a local election rapidly approaching.  Glendale will elect two council members and decide on four ballot measures, including changing the city charter to allow districting for both the Glendale City Council and the GUSD Board of Trustees. There are also two slots on the GUSD board of education and two on the Glendale Community College board on the April 7 ballot. The Glendale City Clerk website has information about the upcoming election: glendalevotes.org.

The last day to register to vote for this election is March 23. You can register online at the Secretary of State’s website www.sos.ca.gov/elections/voter-registration. There is a link to check your registration status. You need to re-register if you have changed party affiliation, your permanent residence or name.

Please encourage your neighbors and friends to register, learn all they can about the issues and candidates and, most importantly, to vote! It’s the least we can do to honor those around the world who are risking their lives for an open society.

The next Crescenta Valley Community Assn. meeting will be Feb. 26, starting at 7 p.m. at the La Crescenta Library, 2809 Foothill Blvd. and feature a candidate forum for Glendale City Council. We will also have information on the ballot measures. Other candidate forums are listed on the city clerk’s website.

  SHARON WEISMAN