Politics & Government

Chamlian Gymnasium Approved by City Council

In a unanimous decision, the Glendale City Council approved the construction of a gymnasium at Chamlian Armenian School.

In a unanimous decision, Glendale City Council moved to approve the construction of a new gymnasium at on Tuesday. This overturns the Planning Commission’s denial of the gym in January.

“It was a fair decision, a good decision based on evidence presented,” said Sarkis Ourfalian, who has two children enrolled at Chamlian and is on the Gym Committee. “We will do everything we can to accommodate our neighbors.” Over 100 Chamlian parents, teachers and students in sports uniforms attended the hearing.

But about 50 neighbors who attended the hearing were not pleased with the council’s decision, and spoke up about increased traffic, decreased property value and the gymnasium becoming a neighborhood eyesore. When speakers in favor the gymnasium took the podium, many opponents watching from the lobby stomped their feet, rolled their eyes and laughed out loud.

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Others were simply emotional. “I am disappointed and shocked,” said Joni Larson, who lives on Second Ave., which borders the school. Larson was upset that Councilman Dave Weaver partially based his decision on the low number of parking citations around the school and complaints filed with the Glendale Police Department about the school in the past two years.

“The neighborhood stopped complaining because nothing was being done,” said Larson, who described walking door to door with a petition to learn that neighbors who had made complaints about traffic problems at the school were ignored. “Neighbors made phone calls to the police department. No one came.”

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Rodney Khan, Chamlian’s project consultant, spearheaded the campaign to overturn the Planning Commission’s decision. “We’re really excited about the outcome,” Khan said. “One of the challenges we faced was people questioning what our real motive was. It was transparent.  The gym is for kids to exercise in. There is no other agenda.”

Chamlian Principal Vazken Madenlian said that fundraising efforts will now begin for the gym.

The gymnasium construction has caused controversy because of the increased traffic commuter students bring to surrounding roads and because the school has already maxed out its Floor Area Ratio. The school sits on 4.59 acres with buildings that take up 45,141 square feet. The gymnasium will bring the school to 54,486 square feet of floor area. The school is located in an R1 residential zone which allows 22,994 square feet of floor area for a lot of its size.

In addition, the max height for buildings in Chamlian’s zone is 25 feet, and the proposed gymnasium would be 35 feet, though Khan said that the gym could be constructed at 30 feet. The school has also been allowed to operate without the required minimum number of parking spaces since the late 1980s.

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