Offers Corrections in Article

I watched the [Glendale] City Council hearing on Tuesday, May 4 that handled the appeal of the proposed multi-family project at 534 N. Kenwood. I would like to correct a few errors in the article [CV Weekly, “Council Reviews Housing Project,” May 6].

Most importantly, the article states, “By right, the property owner could build up to 15 residential units.” This is a pernicious but very common misunderstanding. The property owner who goes through design review cannot build anything “by right.” Fifteen units is the maximum number that Glendale’s code allows to be built on the property. The code includes maximums for other things, like floor area ratio, lot coverage, and height, but the owner likewise does not have the “right” to build a building of a certain height or size. The role of design review, a discretionary process, is to evaluate projects to ensure they not only have a consistent and attractive architectural style but that they are compatible in terms of massing, scale and size with neighboring properties.

At least that is the hope. Projects involving historic resources, such as this 1913 Aeroplane Craftsman, frequently cannot be built to any maximums but need to be scaled way back.

Secondly, Mayor Devine stated that she was a member of The Glendale Historical Society, not a member of its board. She could never hear an appeal of a project brought by an organization on which she served in a leadership capacity.

Catherine Jurca
Glendale