PLEASE CHECK OUT THE VIDEO ABOUT COUNCILMEMBER SAMMY CHAVIRA’S TRAVEL ON THE TAXPAYER DIME. IT IS TO THE LEFT OF THIS COLUMN.

It has been 18 years and 150 days since the city’s pledge to build the West Branch Library.

Last week I posted a blog entitled Historic memory lost. The gist of the blog was the preservation of a historic neighborhood, Historic Thunderbird Estates. In response one of my readers, Shelly, posted the following comment:

Shelly said, “’This becomes more and more difficult as historic memory of what Glendale was and who contributed to shaping Glendale is forgotten by a younger generation.’ (quote from my blog)

“I am of this younger generation and while I respect what once was, I believe that everyone needs to respect what will be, things can’t stay the way they have been for generations, if people don’t start changing there may not be much of a future. I take exception to your phrase as you made it seem like Glendale is doomed if the younger generation is allowed to live and make decisions in and for the city of Glendale. You have to remember that the youth/mid age (30-50 yo) are our future and we should be doing everything to support them and their decisions.

“People get stuck in the old ways or this is the way that we’ve always done it. There needs to be a point where progress is allowed and steps taken to allow progress to happen. This may not be a popular decision, however, I don’t believe it will be the nightmare that people think it will be.

“I’ve driven by this property multiple times throughout the day and I have yet to see a disturbance of any residence. The property is located on the corner of 59th Avenue, customer’s don’t even need to go any further than his property as he is literally right on the corner. There is ample space in front of his home to for customer parking.

“Don is a nice person, he is not a mean or vindictive soul, he is trying to help families live sustainable lifestyles by giving them the opportunity to purchase tropical trees to grow on their own property. He is out there for the greater good of many communities throughout the valley.

“Many families want to live a sustainable lifestyle and enjoy growing their own fruits and veggies (with no chemicals). We are not hippies we just want to know where our food is coming from and hopefully that is our own backyards.”

Shelly hit on several important topics. She said, “Don is a nice person…” I’m sure he’s a very nice man but in this case he made a mistake, either deliberately or inadvertently. If he was aware of the CC&Rs (Codes Covenants and Restrictions) and purchased the property with that knowledge then it was deliberate. If he was unaware of the CC&Rs then he made a mistake by failing to do due diligence.

She went on to say, “Many families want to live a sustainable lifestyle…” There is respect for people’s choice to live life as they see fit…as long as they are not harming others by their actions. Those who choose to grow their own food as much as possible are to be commended. The reader perceives Don as helping them to live this lifestyle but this is not a reason to reward him for his failure to abide by the subdivision’s CC&Rs.

She said, “…I have yet to see a disturbance of any residence.” Her perception of the business activity generated on or near the property is not a relevant argument to allow this gentleman to continue to conduct a retail, commercial use on his property. Granting a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) to allow a business to operate on this property is precedent setting for every property subject to these CC&Rs and in fact, would make the CC&Rs null and void. If one property owner can circumvent them, you can be absolutely sure others will follow. The purchasers of property in Historic Thunderbird Estates bought with the legal expectation that only residential uses would be permitted.

Perhaps the most interesting comment she made highlights the age old tension between respect and value for tradition (the “old”) and the excitement of change (the “new”). She says, I take exception to your phrase as you made it seem like Glendale is doomed if the younger generation is allowed to live and make decisions in and for the city of Glendale. You have to remember that the youth/mid age (30-50 yo) are our future and we should be doing everything to support them and their decisions.” There is most certainly a recognition and acceptance that the younger generation must lead. There’s an old adage paraphrased that those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat the same mistakes. There is a place for historical memory and the preservation of the values it embodies.

In other words, there is rationale for both the old and the new to coexist in harmony. The younger generation as it leads must always be mindful and respectful of the traditions that created their freedom to effect change they are seeking. She raised some interesting and debatable issues. However, she has not made the case for allowing this gentleman to ignore the legal requirements of this subdivision’s CC&Rs.

I thank her for her thoughtful commentary. It was important enough to become the basis for this blog. Comments to my blogs are reader optional and may not be read by all. By using her comment in a blog many more people will see it. I suspect more readers’ comments will be forthcoming. Thank you Shelly.

© Joyce Clark, 2016

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