By Brian CHERNICK

Two newly installed Welcome to Glendale monument signs in the northern portion of Glendale have reignited a dispute between members of the community and residents of the unincorporated areas of La Crescenta.

The two signs welcoming visitors into North Glendale, which were approved by Glendale City Council in May of last year, are located on islands built in the middle of Foothill Boulevard near Pennsylvania and Lowell avenues.

Two petitions, which have been circulating since the design approval requesting city officials to halt or change the signs to recognize the La Crescenta community, have gathered an estimated 1,500 signatures. North Glendale was annexed in 1951.

The signs are intended to identify and unify with the City of Glendale, according to Glendale’s Community Development director Philip Lanzafame.

“[Part of La Crescenta] is a part of Glendale and people don’t really know it,” Lanzafame said when the design was initially approved.

Those in opposition say the signs are more exclusionary to those who don’t identify with Glendale.

“I would like to see a sign that does not ignore the people’s existence,” Crescenta Valley Town Council President Harry Leon said. “The people here belong to La Crescenta.”

According to Glendale spokesman Tom Lorenz, there already exists a sign on Foothill Boulevard that welcomes people to Glendale/Crescenta Highlands.

While not part of the city’s 2011 North Glendale Community Plan – the official guide to development within Glendale neighborhoods of La Crescenta and Montrose – the signs were requested by community members and business owners and became a project between the city and Friends of North Glendale.

Sharon Weisman, who serves as member of the North Glendale Community Plan Advisory Committee, stated that the group’s intention was to improve walkability and beautification of the neighborhood to increase foot traffic for businesses.

“I was dismayed at the negative reaction from some people when [the signs] were approved in the spring of 2016,” Weisman said. “I’m even more disappointed in some of the ridiculous comments posted on social media since construction started.”

Currently there are metal signs with the same greeting affixed to posts at intersections in the North Glendale area that have been there for a number of years. There are no immediate plans to remove them.

“We are all the Crescenta Valley,” said Susan Bolan, who also served on the advisory committee. “I do support any improvement to Foothill Boulevard that makes it look better, period.”

According to Weisman and Bolan, there are plans for two additional signs of the same style to be built within the unincorporated areas that will designate their neighborhoods.

  Brian CHERNICK