Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

On Thursday evening, May 18, 2017 at 5:30 pm Yucca district residents decked out in red…shirts, T-shirts, blouses, jackets…started streaming into Council Chambers for the 6 pm scheduled Planning Commission meeting. I lost count after 80 red garbed people passed by me. Many of them had never been to a city meeting of any sort but they came for this one because they knew that the applicants’ request for greater density and small lot sizes would not create a residential community of distinction.

I did not attend the Planning Commission meeting. Several years ago, when Gary Sherwood was a councilmember (now recalled and replaced by Councilmember Ray Malnar), his habit and practice was to attend Planning Commission meetings on issues of importance to him. The commissioners quietly voiced their concerns leading to an issuance by the city attorney advising councilmembers to refrain from attending. In compliance with that advisory I was not there.

The order of presenters on Stonehaven was the Planning Department presentation first, followed by the applicants’ presentation and then the public hearing calling for citizen comment. As one would expect the Planning Department’s and the applicants’ presentations were polished and professional. The citizen comments were not. Some were nervous. Some were intimidated by the environment of Chambers and the Commissioners seated above them. Some rambled. But all shared a common conviction delivered with sincerity and passion. Some managed to speak to the facts of increased local traffic, school overcrowding, the increased pressure on the very few parks available in the area and the fact that the proposed project is surrounded by large lot, semi-rural properties. I was very proud.

However, I wasn’t so proud of their break with accepted behavior. They were rude and there were several outbursts for which they were admonished. I would hope that when they are before the city council that will be corrected.

Of the 26 citizen speakers 21 were people who live in the area of Stonehaven. Five persons spoke in favor of Stonehaven. Four of them lived no where near this proposed project: 72nd Avenue and Tonapah; 5900 block of Pershing Avenue; 4600 block of Kahler Circle; and 6200 block of W. Keim. There was one Yucca resident who described me as being vehemently opposed and questioned whether my position was a conflict of interest since I will vote on the project on June 27th. For the record, it is a councilmember’s duty to represent its citizens and does not pose a conflict of interest.

 

The Planning Commissioners listened. They did what we all hoped they would do and that was to listen, really listen to the people. It was not an easy decision for them to make. There sat Jacob Long and Jim Miller (the Long family’s attorney) and the lawyers hired to represent them. There sat Pulte Homes and their representatives and technical experts. Lastly, there sat a sea of red shirts worn by the citizens united in their quest to be heard.

The Planning Commission vote was 4 to 1 to recommend denial to the city council of the applicants’ request. Planning Commissioners Garcia, Lennox and Moreno (representing the Yucca district) voted to deny the changes sought by the Stonehaven applicants. Chairman Dobbleaire was truly torn and that is perfectly understandable and reasonable. In the end, he too voted to deny the applicants. The only Commissioner to vote in support of the request was Commissioner Gary Hirsch. I have put out a query to Commissioner Hirsch to ask why he voted as he did for I would really like to understand his reasoning. I have received acknowledgement of my query and we will have a conversation soon.

 I hope that the city council will accept the Planning Commission’s recommendation of denial. I have no way of knowing the outcome as I am prohibited from discussing this issue with the councilmembers. To talk to them would be a violation of the Open Meeting Law and is referred to as “daisy-chaining.”

This action, no matter the final outcome should be symbolic of hope. Outcomes that reflect the interests of the affected citizens occur very rarely.  My thanks to all of those committed citizens who took the time to attend the Planning Commission meeting and my thanks to the Planning Commissioners who listened to the people of their community and who agreed that perhaps the changes requested did not benefit Glendale.

© Joyce Clark, 2017                 

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