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Letters to the Editor: Proposed apartment project draws critics; one reader wants marijuana banned

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Yet another gigantic development is up for public hearing on Dec. 13 in the city of Glendale.

Developer Carmel Partners proposes Glendale Unified School District Apartments — a five-story, 286-unit building in the quiet low-rise residential community — along the narrow one-lane streets at 206 N. Kenwood St. and 223-241 and 247 N. Jackson St., Glendale 91206. The developer seeks rezoning and development plan amendments.

If approved, the GUSD development in an already congested community will irreparably and adversely impact the quality of life for residents of (and visitors to) Glendale.

The notice of public hearing was strategically mailed out the busy week of Thanksgiving and provided a short deadline of Dec. 6 to present objections.

Community residents oppose the GUSD development for several reasons: 1) dramatic increase of traffic; 2) traffic noise; 3) parking shortage; 4) increase of crime, accident and fatality rate; 5) obstruction of air, light, and visual; 6) impairment of landscape, open space and scenery; 7) distortion of the community low-rise character; 8) potential drop in the adjacent home values; 9) potential emission of hazardous wastes (oil leak from historic UST, lead, asbestos, etc.); 10) non-conformance with principles of the development plan, etc.

We have reached out to members of the Glendale City Council with the above concerns and we urge them to deny the GUSD project and stop the plague of Glendale overdevelopment.

We seek community support to help us fight the trend of developers overcrowding Glendale in places with inadequate road/parking infrastructure and to preserve the idyllic community character of Glendale we used to love and cherish.

Naira Soghbatyan

Glendale

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The Glendale Unified School District Board of Education wants to vacate the Administration Center at Jackson Street and Wilson Avenue, constructed in 1972, and move to larger quarters. But is a developer’s plan to replace the center with a 286-unit apartment complex good for the neighborhood?

Currently, 100-125 people are employed at the district’s center, mainly during daytime hours. How many people would be housed in 286 units on that site? 400? 500? Or more? That’s a huge impact on the surrounding neighborhood, which is already experiencing serious congestion caused by new multiple units constructed on streets that were never designed for such high occupancy.

While I understand the district’s changing facility needs — I was GUSD’s public information officer for 34 years — the thought of a developer turning that property, with its open space next to a school, into yet another hulk of an apartment building begs the questions: When is too much? Does the community seriously need 286 more apartment units in a city that now appears to be saturated with new units?

I’m disappointed that this property, with one of the only open spaces left in the downtown area, cannot be developed into something more creative and useful to the community than another “big box.”

Vic Pallos

Glendale

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Make marijuana illegal again. Pervasive smoking of marijuana pollutes the air in the city of Glendale. The cumulative effects of marijuana smoke in the atmosphere can be injurious to the lung.

If marijuana were made illegal, it would prevent the adverse effects of marijuana smoke on non-users who may be exposed to it. This will eventually create a more pleasant atmosphere.

We’ve wondered how to make Glendale “safe again.” One well-known cause of traffic accidents is driving under the influence.

Why is smoking cigarettes restricted while the use of marijuana is not?

Smoking cigarettes is a bad habit, could affect your lungs, has its health warning by the Surgeon General, and its smell might be unpleasant. However, cigarette smoking doesn’t result in impairment to brain function. Therefore, it’s less likely to cause car accidents. But drugs do.

The sale and use of marijuana should be banned.

Rachel Melikian

Glendale

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