By Brian CHERNICK

After a nearly nine-hour-long hearing on Tuesday, Glendale City Councilmembers voted 4-to-1 to halt plans to renovate the city’s natural gas-fired power plant while they explore renewable-energy alternatives.

Hundreds gathered in and outside City Hall to protest the city’s $500 million project with over 400 individual submitted requests to speak on the issue. The volume of requests prompted Mayor Zareh Sinanyan to implement “position cards” with which he would state the individual’s name and their position on the matter in order to save time. Three-hundred-and-seventy position cards were submitted – along with 45 speaking cards – a vast majority of them against the Grayson project.

The hearing, which stretched until 3 a.m., concluded with council denying certification of the final environmental impact report (EIR) and a direction to staff to submit requests for information (RFI) on alternative energy solutions from outside firms.

Council’s decision was, at least, partly inspired by a vote on April 2 by the Glendale Water and Power Commission, which recommended City Council direct staff to take 90 days to explore other options and their feasibility. The commission’s vote passed despite warnings by the department’s general manager, Steve Zurn, against delaying the project due to an air-quality risk assessment to be conducted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District in 2020. This might force the shut-down of Grayson should the city fail to mitigate the plant’s emissions.

Zurn had also expressed skepticism of alternate energy sources, stating he was “not willing to gamble on unproven technology” with both renewable and nonrenewable implementations in providing the city with power.

The plan to invest in the repowering of the fossil-fuel generator has received scrutiny from state Senator Anthony Portantino and Assemblymember Laura Friedman, as well as environmental advocacy groups, due to what is seen as an understatement of the potential impact of greenhouse gas emissions and increased air pollutants by the utility and a lack of unbiased, third-party examination of renewable or non-fossil fuel alternatives.

Downtown Glendale Association president Rick Lemmo and Chamber of Commerce member Greg Tan expressed support for the project, arguing the need for reliable energy for both Glendale businesses and residents.

Three councilmembers – Vrej Agajanian, Vartan Gharpetian and Ara Najarian – had initially expressed a willingness to certify the EIR; however, Najarian ended up being the last hold-out and sole vote against the issuance of an RFI after the former two were convinced to join Paula Devine and Mayor Sinanyan in voting for the solicitation of professional opinions on renewable energy sources.

  Brian CHERNICK