Preservationists Lose 4th Appeal in Battle Over Historic House

A handful of Glendale preservationists all but conceded defeat this week in an 18-month battle to prevent construction of a U-shaped elderly-housing complex around the 101-year-old Victorian mansion known as the Goode House.

The Glendale City Council cleared the way for the project Tuesday, voting 3 to 0 to turn down the final appeal of Glendale Friends of Heritage.

The group, an offshoot of the Glendale Historical Society, has 30 days to file suit to block the project but probably will not, co-chairman David L. Smith said.

“I think the chances of a lawsuit are probably minimal,” Smith said. “We at this point don’t have the resources to undertake what would probably be an expense of $40,000 or $50,000.”

Smith said the group’s last hope would be to persuade a law firm to take the case for free, but he was not optimistic.

The council action leaves developer Joe Ayvazi of Cedar Broadway Partnership of Glendale free to file for a building permit, City Atty. Frank R. Manzano said.

Ayvazi’s project is exempt from the city’s building moratorium, which was enacted in September, because the apartments he plans to build on three sides of the Goode House will be used for elderly housing.

Ayvazi said he is hesitant to have his architect begin working on drawings because of the possibility of a last-minute lawsuit.

“I cannot wait any longer,” Ayvazi said. “Right now, I am in the dark. I have no idea where I am coming from, where I am going. I’m prepared to go ahead with it as long as there are no delays involved.”

Ayvazi’s plan calls for restoration of the Goode House, at 119 N. Cedar St., as an office that would be the centerpiece of the 40-unit apartment building.

The Friends of Heritage contend that the building would overwhelm the historic house, one of the last original Victorians in the city, and that the change of use to commercial would preclude its ever being listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Initially the Glendale Historical Society appealed the project’s approval.

After three unsuccessful appeals, the Friends of Heritage split from the Historical Society and in December filed a fourth and final appeal--as a prelude to possible legal action.

Meanwhile, saying he was frustrated by repeated delays, Ayvazi filed in November for a permit to demolish the historic house.

On Tuesday, the Friends of Heritage argued that the plans were approved by the city before the design was known and without the advice of preservation experts.

They proposed requiring the builder to scale the two wings of the apartment complex back to offer a wider-angle view of the historic house from the street and leaving more space between the two structures.

However, the three council members present said they saw nothing new in the group’s arguments and that they wanted the project to go forward quickly.

“The building needs help in a hurry,” Mayor Carl Raggio said. “And the sooner we get started the better.”

Council members John Day and Larry Zarian were absent.