City Council Snubs Appeal by Heliport’s Foes

The Glendale City Council this week refused to hear an appeal by neighbors opposed to plans by Glendale Federal Savings & Loan to operate a heliport atop its 13-story corporate headquarters.

The council Tuesday unanimously upheld a December decision by the city Board of Zoning Appeals granting GlenFed Inc. a conditional-use permit to operate up to eight flights daily from its building in the 700 block of North Brand Boulevard.

Some residents of Monterey Island, an 88-unit, 15-story condominium in the 200 block of Monterey Road--only 300 feet east of the GlenFed building--object to the proposed flights, saying they threaten the safety of residents.

Other residents, however, dropped their objections in December after corporate officials agreed to keep helicopter flights away from the residential tower. The controversy has since pitted neighbor against neighbor in the project.

Don Whaley, a Monterey Island condominium owner who said he represents about a dozen residents objecting to the heliport, said he was surprised that the council refused to hear their arguments.

“They could have at least given us a chance to speak,” he said. Whaley said he plans to carry the issue to court. “All we can do is keep fighting,” he said.