Council Bars New Hillside Subdivisions : Development: An outcry prompts an 18-month moratorium, during which new guidelines will be drawn up. Projects of no more than four homes are exempted.

Responding to community protests about home building on scenic slopes, the Glendale City Council voted 4 to 1 Tuesday to ban new hillside housing subdivisions for up to 18 months.

Under the hillside moratorium, developers will not be allowed to file the tentative tract maps they need to create subdivisions in the sloped areas. Excluded are projects that involve no more than four homes and several larger projects that were undergoing a city review prior to Feb. 27.

“I think we need to take some time to look at the present rules about building on hillsides,” Mayor Jerold F. Milner said.

During the moratorium, Glendale planners will propose new hillside development guidelines.

Hillside protection has long been an issue in Glendale. In 1988, The Times disclosed a developer’s plans to grade a prominent ridge above Oakview Drive that triggered an outcry. The city more recently has begun processing other new hillside developments, prompting fresh protests.

“You get people mad enough, they’ll recall us all,” Milner said.

The review will focus on grading rules, revision of ridgeline preservation ordinances, the number of homes that should be permitted according to the degree of slope and new design guidelines for hillside homes and streets, Milner said.

During the development freeze, the city will also try to decide the most appropriate use for its remaining open slopes.

“In the hillsides, we really don’t have a good grasp as to what’s developable and what’s not,” Councilman Larry Zarian said.

He said the new rules should also help the city preserve more open space in the hills.

The moratorium will last until Oct. 1, 1991, but could end sooner if the hillside review is completed before that date.

City planners said the ban could delay some hillside property owners who have done preliminary design work but have not yet filed the tract map needed for their subdivision.

One such property owner, John Gregg, said last week that the hillside ban works against the city’s push for more single-family homes.

But the ordinance imposing the freeze states: “Continued development of hillside projects could have irreversible consequences of loss of open and recreational space for current and future citizens if regulations on development during an interim period are not enacted.

“Significant biological resources, scenic ridgelines and areas of important aesthetic value still remain in their natural state and in private ownership, which are susceptible to future development potentially inconsistent with community objectives.”

Councilman Dick Jutras cast the lone vote against the hillside moratorium.

“I didn’t hear enough to show that we need to do it,” he said. “I think 18 months is a long time.”

However, Milner said a city review of apartment construction that began in 1986 without a freeze on new projects led to a flurry of new building by developers eager to beat the new guidelines.

Without a hillside moratorium, Milner said, some hillside property owners might similarly try to rush their projects toward approval before the rules are changed.

‘Since they don’t regulate their fellow builders and developers, somebody has to,” the mayor said.

NEIGHBORS FIGHT PROJECT

Glenoaks Canyon residents urge the City Council to reduce or drop a 25-home hillside development. J2