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Politics & Government

Details of North Glendale Community Plan

Commissions will now consider guidelines for development in the city's northern section that includes Montrose and La Crescenta.

Glendale city planners unveiled the latest draft of the North Glendale Community Plan Wednesday night at the Sparr Heights Community Center. The plan will ultimately be a step-by-step guide to commercial and residential development in Montrose, La Crescenta and Verdugo City.

"The North Glendale Community Plan seeks to preserve and enhance each area's distinct character, while identifying the vision for each area and potential improvement," the June 29 draft states.

Height limits for new buildings are the main point of contention between residents and commercial developers, according to public comments at the meeting. Residents are in favor of reducing the current 50-foot height limit, while owners of commercial properties and developers want to keep the 50-foot limit in place. Most current buildings don't exceed 35 feet. 

Find out what's happening in Montrose-La Crescentawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Read comments from last night's meeting.

Glendale commissions, including Planning and Design Review, will now step in to put their mark on the plan and hear additional community feedback. The Planning Commission will then recommend a final draft, and the City Council will vote to approve or amend it.

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The report divides North Glendale into seven areas and recommends the following for each region:

 

Area 1—Markridge, Crescenta Highlands, Highway Highlands

  • New houses, add-ons or remodels in Markridge, a 42-home subdivision on the southern face of the San Gabriel Mountains, should fit into the existing neighborhood but are not required to copy existing designs.
  • To add architectural variety to Markridge's mostly two-floor, stucco-surfaced homes, the plan calls for "a variety of architectural styles, treatment [and] material" and says "new designs may have garages that do not face the street."
  • The Crescenta Highlands neighborhoods should "maintain the eclectic mix of design styles and site design to keep the charm and character of the area."
  • "Native materials should be used and integrated in the design of homes."
  • "The community may choose to allow sidewalk construction and extension of street lighting."
  • "Further use of retaining walls to create level front yards is minimized and when used, native materials incorporated."
  • Maintaining or adding native trees and those conducive to California is encouraged for Crescenta Highlands locales.
  • Highway Highlands is located within Crescenta Highlands and features homes built in the 1920s with stone retaining walls, which the plan says should be maintained. As with the other Area 1 neighborhoods, Highway Highlands "additions should be properly scaled," and architectural variety is encouraged.

 

Area 2—Foothill Boulevard

The plan divides this area into "suburban" and "commercial" corridors. The residential stretch covers Pennsylvania to Dunsmore avenues, while the commercial section is between Dunsmore and Lauderdale avenues.

  • "The street should continue to have an eclectic feel with variations in building locations, style, parking locations and open space."
  • The plan calls for improvements to "the streetscape to increase visual appeal, pedestrian comfort and commercial activity."
  • The one-block commercial area should have building designs that pay "specific attention to the pedestrian with use of entryways, windows and finish materials."
  • The plan seeks to "improve the streetscape to increase visual appeal, pedestrian comfort and commercial activity."

 

Area 3—Verdugo City

This sector has single- and multifamily residences as well as a commercial district centered on Honolulu Avenue between La Crescenta and Ramsdell avenues.

  • "The new Village Center features well-designed buildings located at the front property line."
  • "Streetscapes in this area will be enhanced to include street trees, bulb-outs" and other improvements geared toward pedestrians.
  • Attention will be given to establishing "a visually appealing entry into Verdugo City "similar to La Cañada Flintridge's tree-lined street medians that host signs announcing the municipal border. The intent is to create inviting entry points as one enters the City of Glendale from the Interstate 210 at Pennsylvania and La Crescenta avenues"
  • Verdugo City's single-family homes will remain varied, and new structures will conform to the architectural context of a given block. South of Honolulu Avenue, "the rural character will be maintained with most streets without curbs, sidewalks and lights, unless otherwise requested by residents."
  • Multifamily buildings "are encouraged to portray a domestic scale and give identity to individual dwelling units while reinforcing a cohesive architectural idea ... New multifamily buildings respect the scale of the neighborhood and provide a transition in mass and scale to adjacent single-family dwellings."

 

Area 4—Glenwood Oaks, Mountain Oaks, Whiting Woods and Oakmont Woods

This area is sits below various sides of the Verdugo Mountains.

  • "Although these communities share many similarities, they were developed during different time periods and each has unique characteristics."
  • Keeping with a unifying theme of the plan, any new structures or add-ons must fit in well with the existing character of a given neighborhood.

 

Area 5—Montrose and Sparr Heights

This area combines single and multifamily housing as well as the Montrose Shopping Park and Sparr Heights Business District.

  • The plan cites "opportunities for greater connectivity between the two [business] districts."
  • "The Sparr Heights Business District will be enhanced with facade, parking and streetscape improvements."
  • "Bicycle amenities" will be added to the Montrose Shopping Park.
  • "Because on-site and on-street parking is limited, additional shared parking areas should be considered" for the Sparr Heights Business District.
  • For the residential side of Sparr Heights, "expansion of existing homes is expected. Grade-level and second-story additions should ... maintain an open feeling toward the street."

 

Area 6—Indian Springs

Residential housing as well as medical and commercial buildings mark the Indian Springs area. The Verdugo Hills Hospital serves as the sector's landmark structure.

  • The plan calls for "a campus-type medical environment ... focusing additional medical and commercial uses adjacent to the Verdugo Hills Hospital" and a link for pedestrians "from the Montrose Shopping Park to the movie theater complex in La Cañada Flintridge."

 

Area 7—Montecito Park

This residential section is adjacent to Sparr Heights and borders the northeastern end of Verdugo Canyon.

  • Eclectic architecture and varied lot sizes will remain the norm here.
  • Most streets located higher up on the area's hillsides are without parkways, street lights and sidewalks. The plan suggests this "pattern should remain unless otherwise requested by the residents."
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