Less Housing for the Elderly
The zoning administrator of Glendale, so it would seem, has entered into an obscene pact with big business and the powers that be. Instead of making a thorough study of housing needs for the elderly, the city of Glendale has carelessly succumbed once again to the demands of a mega-institution, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The latest victim is the beautiful Village Apartment Courts on Central Avenue. This veritable pastoral community in downtown Glendale, which should by rights be dedicated a city landmark, is now fated to become a three-story parking lot topped off by a satellite dish.
The Mormon Church, which owns the property, is telling the Village dwellers, and with predictable self-righteousness, that we should be grateful for one month’s free rent (and a second month’s free rent if we move before Nov. 1 “without making trouble”)!
In granting the church’s request for a conditional-use permit and variance, the zoning administrator has thus approved the demise of a one-of-a-kind multiple dwelling, a complex of charming cottage apartments that has for many years been home to a legion of senior citizens. Layer upon layer of parking structures will never become a pride and joy to the city. The Village is exactly that to those who know it.
The zoning administrator should reverse this unfortunate decision. It is not too late.
WAYNE WESTLAND
Glendale
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