Glendale’s Code Enforcement Explained

 By Peter Fuad

For those residents who are frustrated with what appears to be non existent or lax enforcement taken against persons violating city building and design codes, here is a quick primer on the City’s enforcement procedures as outlined by Neighborhood Services Director Sam Engel.

Basically, if the City determines that a design or building code violation is taking place, a series of deadlines and goals are established that the violator must comply with.

Such violations include construction without a permit, construction exceeding the scope of a permit, violating a design approval or ignoring Stop Work Orders issued by the City. 

Compliance or Legal Action

Code compliance is primarily enforced by Neighborhood Services and by Zoning Administrator Edith Fuentes and her staff. 

Anyone failing to comply with a compliance deadline at any step of the process results in the matter being referred to the City Attorney for criminal prosecution as a misdemeanor.  The overall process seems slow because the City must give due process to those allegedly violating codes at each step.

Stop Work Orders and Enforcement Letters

Let’s say neighbors notify Neighborhood Services that they think illegal construction is going on next door.  Neighborhood Services will quickly send an inspector to the site to review the situation to determine the nature of the violation, if any. 

If, indeed, illegal work is being done, Neighborhood Services will issue an immediate Stop Work Order, followed by an enforcement letter telling the owner to remedy the situation, generally within 30 days. 

If the work is of a type (such as an addition) that can be legalized through permits, variances or other approvals, the owner is instructed to obtain such approvals from the City before restarting work.  If the work is of a type that cannot be legalized under any circumstances (such as an unsafe condition), the owner is instructed to remove the offending work within the prescribed time period.

If the owner ignores the Stop Work Order, the matter is immediately referred to the City Attorney who has the discretion to prosecute the violation criminally as a misdemeanor for failure to obey an order of a building official.

Office Conference

If the owner obeys the Stop Work Order, but subsequently fails to satisfactorily resolve the problem within that time period set forth in the enforcement letter, an office conference is scheduled by Neighborhood Services with the owner within 30 days from the date of such failure. 

The goal of the meeting is to get the owner’s agreement to an “absolute deadline” by which he will remedy the situation.  Neighborhood Services finds that when owners give their word to meet a deadline, they usually feel obligated to comply.

Refusal to Cooperate However, if the owner refuses to attend an office conference or does not remedy the situation by the “absolute deadline” he had agreed to, the matter is referred to the City Attorney as above.

Continued Noncompliance

If the owner obtains the required approvals following the enforcement letter or the office conference, the City will monitor compliance with the terms of such approvals. 

If the owner does not complete work within six months, or violates the terms of the approvals, the permits are subject to revocation.  The matter will be referred to the City Attorney if the permits are not reinstated or the matter not otherwise satisfactorily resolved.

Enforcement Stepped Up

In response to concerns about timely enforcement of illegal building, Sam Engel notes that the City Attorney is now being more aggressive in filing criminal complaints.  Currently, Deputy Assistant City Attorney Dorine Mardirosian is assigned to handle these cases. 

If you see construction going on that concerns you, contact Neighborhood Services at 548-3700.

 Back to Contents

Attacks on NWGHA’s Motives Bring Responses

By Peter Fuad
NWGHA President

For those following the letters and guest commentaries in the News Press, the first few weeks in November included pieces that both attacked and defended our Association’s motives in pushing for tough design review standards.

The debate was kicked off by a November 1 Community Commentary authored by Sherri James, wife and business partner of DRB Board #2 member Michael James.   She accused us (and by extension other homeowner associations ) of being motivated by “prejudices and bigotry.”

That brought a number responses printed by the News-Press, including a Community Commentary from me decrying the level of public discourse.  All former presidents of our Association, Randy Carter, Brian Ellis and Julie Budimer, as well as Lawrence Kalfayan our current vice president, wanted to show solidarity by signing the commentary, but the News-Press has policy against more than one person signing. 

One item I touched on in my commentary was our level of community support, which I would like to amplify.  

The percentage of Northwest Glendale households who are dues-paying NWGHA members matches the percentage of local residents voting for winning council candidates in recent elections—  despite the fact that voting is free, while membership in the NWGHA costs $20 a year.  Looked at that way, we are just as “representative” as any council member.

As the dust settled, we think our taking the high road in our responses has resulted in our position being vindicated and strengthened.  Thanks to those who supported us during a tumultuous November!

New Design Review Board Process and Members

It is an exciting time with respect to DRB.  After years of inaction, Council seems to be finally making a serious effort to address longstanding concerns of homeowners.  We can’t be sure these changes will work, but other cities have succeeded this way and the current system clearly isn’t working.

The composition of DRBs is a crucial part of making any reforms work.  In that regard we look forward to newly appointed DRB members Yong Yoo and Alek Zarifian, who are both architects.  They were appointed by Dave Weaver, and unanimously approved by Council on November 27 to serve on DRBs #1 and #2, respectively.  Yoo replaces Vartan Gharpetian, whom Weaver declined to renominate.  Another opening remains on DRB #1 due to John Cianfrini’s resignation.

Finally, thanks to Tammi Relyea for taking the laboring oar for the Association on Brand Park safety measures.

Happy and safe holidays to you all.

 Back to Contents

Newcomer Tackles Nagging Highland/Glenoaks Issues

 By Vincent Tumeo II

When my fiancé and I moved to Glendale seven months ago, we became aware of long-standing issues facing the neighborhood in which we reside.

These came to light by talking to our neighbors and through our own first-hand observation.  In talking to my neighbors, my first read was that many residents were under-educated or ill informed about what powers each of you have at your fingertips. 

The municipality of Glendale in my opinion is a model of responsiveness.  However, how you get the city and the police to respond to your concerns is an animal of a different color. 

Most important, one needs to notify the City of the problem. 

Neighborhood Meeting

Fast-forward to our local neighborhood meeting on October 24 generously hosted by the Sidewalk Café located at 901 West Glenoaks Blvd.  Owners Hendrick Torossian and George Rostomyan did not realize that over 100 residents would attend a gathering with so many city and police personnel. 

City community relations officer Zizette Ayad is to be thanked for assembling an impressive panel of representatives from our responsive city.  The meeting was also attended by Hoover High principal Kevin Welsh and Lisa Sondergaard from Keppel.  Both Peter Fuad, president of NWGHA and Lawrence Kalfayan, vice president, were also in attendance.

Speeding, Littering, Loitering

Central to our discussion was the overall speed of cars traversing at unacceptable speeds through our streets.  Second was the litter and loitering emanating from the 7-Eleven at Glenoaks Blvd. and Highland. 

Many other concerns were addressed and will continue to be addressed until satisfactory resolved.  Petition signing continues throughout a 500 resident outreach within this local area.  I believe problems must be solved; not tolerance for them raised.

Meeting With 7-Eleven

Of great note is our recent meeting with the owner /franchisee of the 7-Eleven, Joe Aly accompanied by Alyson Kwok from the corporate office of marketing management. 

Mr. Aly and Ms. Kwok met with the city and the police after a formal complaint was lodged with corporate headquarters of 7-Eleven, Inc. in Dallas earlier last month.

Trespass Letter

At our request, Mr. Aly and Ms. Kwok executed a “Trespass Letter” with the Community Policing Partnership Program which to enable police to enforce loitering and trespassing ordinances against those who assemble nightly in the store’s parking lot.

Security Cameras

The store installed security surveillance cameras overlooking the alley above Glenoaks and repaired its stucco wall broken by a dumpster illegally placed in the alley.

(By contrast, Cornerstone Property Management of Pasadena, manager of the Tae Kwon Do and the chiropractic office, has not been responsive with regard to maintenance of that building.)

It took a concerted effort to remove graffiti from the alley, and our very own COPPS officer John Darby was responsible for the installation of three lights on the utility poles in the alley to curtail sexual activity and loitering.  More improvements within the alley are well on the way.

It will take additional community participation to petition the City to limit hours of businesses and other concerns about Ven’s liquor store at 823 West Glenoaks, the Sidewalk Café, 7-Eleven and Pets-R-Us.

Traffic Survey

The city’s engineering department is finalizing the traffic survey requested back in March 2007.  This will include a neighborhood gathering before the department to express concerns on Highland Avenue between West Glenoaks Blvd. and Glenwood Road.  Petition signing is currently underway for neighboring streets that also have express chronic problems with speed.

Residents may have noticed sidewalk repairs on parts of West Dryden and Highland Avenue currently underway.  City Arborists are working in tandem with this project to prune street  trees.

More and Better Later

We are looking forward to improvements in street lighting and traffic calming measures soon.

There are so many individuals at the city and police departments I would like to thank:

· Pam & Brian Ellis for their guidance and introductions.

· The City’s Integrated Waste Management Department and Steve Shaw for delivering new trash receptacles along Highland next to 7-Eleven and the Sidewalk Café and for implementing a pilot program to install two trash cans along Highland and Dryden and Highland and Palm/South. 

I have been personally gratified to meet so many of you.  Won’t you also join in?  You may contact me at vincenttumeo@aol.com.  Together, we will make a difference.

Vincent Tumeo volunteers his time in community service as a neighborhood liaison/petition coordinator.  He is a professional actor who has performed in Los Angeles and New York.

  Back to Contents

                                   Vincent Tumeo

· 1600 block of Hazbeth Lane—Neighbors are appealing to Council the approval of a  CUP approved by the Zoning Administrator and affirmed by the Board of Zoning Adjustments. 

The CUP would allow the applicant to remove 14,400 cubic feet of earth to accommodate a 7,089 square-foot home and related driveway atop a pristine ridgeline on a 6.8 acre site.  No hearing date set

· 1344 Highland.  City attorney plans to initiate legal action for various code violations.

· 1749 Allen.  Hearing on December 5 before Zoning Administrator on variance to allow use of driveway in connection with proposed two-story home use on site.  On October 18 DRB #1 allowed the project to proceed to final DRB review with comments.

 Back to Contents

DRB Reforms Gain Momentum

Council seems headed towards significantly revamping the DRB process in response to homeowner concerns that the current DRBs are failing to stop incompatible and inappropriate development.

Councilmen John Drayman and Frank Quintero have taken the lead in focusing on these issues.

As broadly outlined at Council on November 6, Planning Department staff would act as a “design studio.”  They would meet with applicants at one or more sessions and be primarily responsible for reviewing and making recommendations regarding designs.  The public would not be notified of the proposed project or these sessions nor permitted to participate.

Following such sessions, staff would issue a report available to the public.  Residents living within 300 feet would be notified of the project and this report, and the upcoming DRB hearing.

All projects would continue to go to DRB for approval.  DRB would be advised whether staff was satisfied with the design as presented or not.  (Applicants could require projects go before DRB if they and staff cannot agree on the design after one or more sessions.)

DRB Retains Final Say

The DRB would make the final approval at a public hearing at which the public can participate.  Although DRB could recommend further changes, the process envisions that most changes would be done at the staff level.

The DRB decision could be appealed directly to Council.  The Alternative Assessments Panel would be eliminated.

The Planning director would have the discretion to require story poles to show the outline of new construction.

DRB meetings will be moved to evenings.

Under the proposal, each Council member would nominate one DRB member to each board, which would then be subject to full Council approval.

More to Do

Other issues discussed, but on which no definitive decisions were reached, include:

· Appointing Planning staff to DRBs

· Holding any required variance or CUP hearings concurrently (but separate) with the DRB hearing

· Whether to require all DRB members to resign upon enactment of the ordinance and after each election

· Prohibiting Council from influencing staff while considering a design

· Limiting the size of projects to the lesser of the maximum FAR and a percentage over the existing average FAR of the area.

Council will consider the changes in two sessions— mid-December for non code changes, and mid-February for code changes, after Planning Commission consideration of such changes in January.

  Back to Contents

By Carol Brusha

Zargarian Music Center opened two years ago in Kenneth Village and while the store may look small on the outside, on the inside it has a potpourri of musical supplies and instruments for professional, amateur and beginning/budding musicians.

Striking the Right Note

Garen Zargarian chose Kenneth Village because he liked the area and knew several people who have businesses here.  A pop guitarist and master repairer of instruments in his native Iran, he stocks electrical, bass, acoustical and classic guitars.  Some are hand-made in Spain.

All Instruments Musical

But that is not all he has in his shop.  There are also keyboards, violins, drum sets, and harmonicas,  to name a few.  The list can go on but for those interested in all things musical, it would be best to stop in, even if it is just to browse and get acquainted with Garen.  If what you want is not in his shop, he can order it since he works with several major suppliers.

Youngsters can buy toy kazoos and parents might want to check out rhythm sticks and children’s instruments to start them in their musical careers.  For those who have gypsy in their souls, tambourines are available.

Sheet Music, Too

All musicians and aspiring ones need sheet music and musical study books for their various instruments and Garen has quite a supply from A to Z - accordions to violins.  (Well, maybe that is A to V.)  Even music for mandolins and ukuleles is included in the inventory.  For those who like the “Dummy” books, such as Piano for Dummies, there is a wide selection for different instruments.

There are also gift items with a musical bent.

Garen is carrying on a family tradition.  His relatives in Iran owned music stores and did repairs.  He learned the business and while he can repair almost any instrument, his specialty is acoustic instruments (violins and guitars).

Musical Family

He immigrated to this area six years ago with wife, Alvin, two sons (Emin and Areg) and daughter, Mineh.  Emin, 21, plays guitar and majors in biology at UCLA.  He hopes to enter medical school.  Areg, 20, attends Glendale Community College and plays the keyboard.  Mineh, who just turned 14, is at Toll Middle School and is learning the violin.

Garen did not know English when he arrived here but immediately started attending small classes and then went to Glendale Community College for extensive studies of the language.  The result is impeccable English.

Last February, he, Alvin, who is a Los Angeles County social worker, and his sons became United States citizens.  They have now applied for Mineh to get her citizenship papers.

Zargarian Music Center is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. at 1423 ½ Kenneth Road.  The phone number is (818) 243-0511.

 Back to Contents

Garen Zargarian

(Photo by Ron Brusha)

By Tammi Relyea

Have you visited Brand Park recently and noticed a change for the better?

Since the Brand Park shooting six months ago, safety measures implemented at the park continue to have a positive impact. 

Such measures were in response to pleas from NWGHA and nearby residents, galvanized by the shooting and increasing problems of crime, noise and other disturbances at the park.

Safety Measures

The City has stationed an employee at the east entrance to the park to monitor the park and provide visitor assistance between 2:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m.  The west entrance has been closed in the afternoons and a parking lot that gave loiterers a good vantage point to spot incoming authorities has been cordoned off.

What appears to have brought the most noticeable change to the entire park environment was the removal of the basketball hoops. 

Neighbors Pleased

Robert Mulder, a nearby resident and NWGHA member, states, “It has been a 100% turn around.  I take my hat off to the City Council and the Police Department for taking quick and assertive action. It is a pleasure to see families enjoying the park once again. As for us personally, I can't begin to tell you how much we enjoy our backyard again.”

Russell Hauck, Park Ranger Supervisor ,reports that both law enforcement and his department continue to regularly patrol the park.  Although cold weather and the recent time change have reduced activity levels even further, Mr. Hauck reassuringly states that the park will continue to be closely monitored.

The Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services is researching various long term security measures and the cost of implementation.

According to DepartmentDirector George Chapjian, “the proposal will include fencing, security staff stationed at Brand, lighting enhancements, security cameras, and possibly two different models of enforcement for Brand and other parks.  One of those could be increasing the number of Rangers we currently have on staff or looking at a model proposed by the Police Department wherein they would patrol the parks while allowing the Rangers to patrol the City’s open space and perform interpretive programming.”

All proposed improvements are scheduled to be reviewed by City Council in January to obtain funding”.

Collaboration Lauded

The NWGHA is pleased at the collaborative efforts of the City Council, City staff and law enforcement to ensure that our historic Brand Park continues to be a safe place for families to enjoy.  We will continue to work with the community and City to ensure that the proposed long term security measures are implemented.

The Guardian

Published by the Northwest Glendale Homeowners Association, a non profit organization

 Editor  —  Peter Fuad

Northwest Glendale Homeowners Association
P.O. Box 3232
Glendale, California 91221-0232 

818.754.8274

www.nwglendaleha.org

© NWGHA. All rights reserved.  Reproduction without written permission prohibited.

NWGHA 2007-2008
Officers and Directors

President — Peter Fuad

Vice President — Lawrence Kalfayan

Treasurer — Carl Moseley

Membership — Tammi Relyea and Mary Rose Grim

Secretary — Mike Fedrick

DRB Representative— Philip Keller

Carol Brusha

Douglas Johnson