Northwest Glendale Homeowners Association

Largest Neighborhood Association in Glendale

Winter 2004 Volume 14 #1

Winter 2004 Table of Contents:

Association Membership Survey Results Support, Will Guide Board Positions

Your Written Comments from the Survey

Council Will Consider Bigger DRB Exemptions

NWGHA Supports DRB's Authority to Impose Compatibility Conditions Beyond Code

Cumberland Heights Historic District Needs Your Help

Give us Your Email address for Important Notices

 

Association Membership Survey Results Support, Will Guide Board Positions

Full Survey Results

By Peter Fuad

In the October 2003 issue of The Guardian and on the NWGHA website we included a survey asking our members what they felt on various important design and zoning issues affecting Northwest Glendale.

Why we did it

We conducted the survey for a number of reasons. As you know, the NWGHA is active in design review matters, especially in speaking before design review board hearings on local projects. Whenever the Board knows of a project in Northwest Glendale coming before DRB that it feels has design problems, or if one of the neighbors requests, we try to have a board member testify at DRB on the project to express our concerns. To encourage neighborhood participation and awareness, we also now mail a notice to neighbors on especially troublesome projects.

However, lately, the Association’s appearances before DRB have been challenged. A number of developers and others have questioned whether the NWGHA actually represents its members’ views when speaking before DRB, and whether our representatives even have the standing to testify at all when he or she is not actually a neighbor within 300 ft of the project.

With the Association’s credibility and standing being challenged, we decided to conduct a survey of our membership on this and other issues.

The Results

This issue details the results of the survey. These results were previewed by Peter Fuad, NWGHA President, in remarks before the November 25, 2003 City Council meeting. Bob Getts, our DRB representative, also reviewed the results before DRB.

First, the response rate was a gratifying 34%, which is high for a mail-in survey. In addition, many people wrote comments, some of which can be found here. The full results are on page 2 of the hardcopy issue of The Guardian.

Here are some of the highlights of what you told us:

You want us to remain actively involved in the DRB process and testifying before DRB: 95% said we should continue focusing on residential projects at DRB, and 96% said we should continue testifying before DRB on specific projects in Northwest Glendale.
70% said we should favor historical districts with reasonable design guidelines.

Respondents were also concerned about incompatible architecture: 98% were concerned about massive projects, and 97% were concerned about poor architectural design. You were more divided on whether we should hold a Board meeting open to members to review a project before it goes to DRB: 52% said yes, 35% said no and 13% did not respond. Your Board is reviewing the results. In most instances, you support positions we have been taking, and based on this support, we will continue those positions. On other issues, your Board will use the results to guide us in taking positions.

Going Forward

Finally, we want to thank those of you who participated in the survey. As we have said in the past, your positions and votes on local issues actually have more impact on local officials than do your votes on state and national issues have on those officials. Your votes in this survey will have an impact on what we do as an organization (and, importantly, add to our credibility) and, by extension, what position our local officials take on these very important matters.

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Council Will Consider Bigger DRB Exemptions

At its January 20 meeting, the City Council decided to move ahead with preparing an ordinance which would implement significant changes to the DRB process recommended by the Planning Department. The NWGHA believes that these changes are flawed and will weaken, in some cases dramatically, protections afforded by the DRB process.

These recommendations grow out of an effort by Planning to address a number of perceived problems in the current DRB process: Staff workload, the process being inflexible and too lengthy for “minor” projects, the flawed appeal process, exemptions being granted by Staff inconsistently, and compatibility not being adequately defined.

The proposed changes address the workload, process and appeal issues. But they effectively ignore the exemption and compatibility problems identified by the NWGHA and other homeowners groups and could make such problems worse by enlarging exemptions and trimming public oversight. Some of these changes would not apply in historical districts.

At the January 20 meeting, Council members’ comments on the recommendations varied. Here is a run down-on the major changes Planning Staff is recommending:

Increasing DRB Exemption from 700 to 1,000 Sq. Ft.

This change would increase the current exemption for additions from 700 square feet to 1,000 square feet. Staff could grant these exemptions over the counter if they determined the addition was compatible with the neighborhood. This would have a significant impact on smaller houses of 1,500 to 2,000 sq. ft. which are common in NW Glendale. A 1,000 addition represents an increase of 50% to 66% of these size homes creating possible scale/massing problems for neighboring properties.

This exemption would not apply to changes to a façade directly facing a street exceeding 200 sq. ft. or second story additions. Exemptions to single-family homes where the architectural style changes would be eliminated. These projects would presumably be reviewed by the proposed mini DRBs mentioned below.

Your Association opposes the increased exemption because, like all Staff exemptions, there would be no public notice, input or ability to appeal any approval, and Staff, not DRB or neighbors, would have the final (and only input) on compatibility.

As we have reported in the past, there have been some notable breakdowns in Staff determinations on what is, and is not, compatible. A front yard garage on Allen St. and a huge addition on Arboles Dr. are examples.

Staff decisions can also be problematic because they are often made almost exclusively on submissions by applicants, who can distort the facts. Staff members have been inconsistent in their decisions. Neighbors, who understand the facts on the ground and are most impacted, are excluded entirely. Staff's sensitivity to compatibility has been uneven.

Mini DRB for Minor Projects

Under two alternative, but similar proposals, a three-member design committee, either comprised of Planning Staff or DRB members (who would come from one of the existing DRBs which would be eliminated), would be created to review signs, murals, fences, and walls and all exterior remodeling and additions to existing buildings. Under the proposals, these are considered “minor” projects. Although these sessions would be noticed to the public, they would not be televised.

In NW Glendale, many problems have been created by huge remodels and additions often increasing the size of home by 50% to 100%. Remodels and additions are not minor projects. The NWGHA believes that major projects should be heard by a full five-person DRB having architect, landscaping, builder, and general public expertise. Because Staff is sometimes involved in advising project applicants before a hearing, there could be the appearance of a conflict of interest if a staff design committee then hears the same project.

Alternative Assessments Panel as Decision-Maker

Staff recommended giving the Alternative Assessments Panel the authority to make real decisions on DRB appeals instead of merely offering recommendations to the DRB whose action is being appealed. The NWGHA supports this proposal.

NWGHA Positions

The NWGHA has in the past made a number of suggestions to Planning that we believe address Staff and applicant concerns.

1. Expedite Processing for Minor Projects

In the hearings leading up to this report, the NWGHA had suggested that all changes to front façades be subject to DRB review, regardless of size. In its report, Planning determined that in 2002, there were 282 projects for façade changes and 241 projects for minor additions (not stated whether these were front additions). The report stated that eliminating all exemptions for these projects would represent an intolerable increase in Staff workload.

Rather than increasing the overall exemption and creating a mini DRB for “minor changes, NWGHA would like Staff to study whether “minor” projects affecting front façades, at least, (within, say, the current 200 sq. ft. exemption) could be handled through an expedited application and DRB review approach. Public notice and televised coverage would continue. A variety of ideas could be tested on a pilot basis.

The NWGHA does not object to streamlining the process. NWGHA merely suggests there may be a way to accomplish this without increasing exemptions and decreasing full DRB review.

2. Help Staff Make Exemption Determinations

To the extent there are staff exemptions, we feel that it’s critical that Planning Staff involved in the review of exempt projects be properly trained, supervised, and fully aware of community concerns.

This includes enhancing the submittal requirements from applicants to require a full, correct description of existing conditions with, perhaps, submissions allowed by neighbors. Perhaps some meaningful affirmative compatibility findings, like in the variance and conditional use permit process, should be required before Staff exempts a project.

We hope that future recommendations respond to these concerns. Without confidence in staff determinations, any exemption process will fail.

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Cumberland Heights Historic District Needs Your Help

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Your Written Comments from the Survey Show Your Ideas to Improve NW Glendale

General Comments

Appearing Before DRB

DRB and Design Issues

Historic Districting

Neighborhood Beautification

Other Homeowner Topics to Address

Increasing Membership


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NWGHA Supports DRB’s Authority to Impose Compatibility Conditions Beyond Code

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Give us Your Email address for Important Notices

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Full Survey Results

Are you concerned about:

What position should the NWGHA take on:

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