City Planner Opposes Seniors Housing Project

A proposal announced this week to build the largest senior-citizen housing development in Glendale immediately stirred opposition when a city planner said the proposed project is too big and in the wrong place.

A group of local developers and architects, flanked by senior-citizen advocates and representatives of Glendale Memorial Hospital, conducted a press conference Monday to announce plans to build a $65-million, 516-unit high-rise apartment complex on a triangle of land in south Glendale.

The project would house about 700 seniors on a two-acre site bordered by Central Avenue, Los Feliz Road and San Fernando Road. The site is next to the hospital, which would provide support services and programs, said Hamo Rostamian, managing general partner of the developer, Dorn-Platz Investment Co.

The developer and the architect--Feola Deenihan Archuleta of Glendale--said they expect to seek two variances for the project. One variance would allow the project to provide for fewer parking spaces than required and the other would allow it to exceed the permitted three-story height limit by 10 stories.

“I hope the city will be helpful” in granting the variances and speeding the project, Rostamian said.

However, City Planning Director John W. McKenna said a proposal shown to him several months ago would require a zoning change and an amendment to the city’s General Plan--a lengthy and expensive process.

“The proposal that I saw was not in accord with the density, land use or the General Plan, in addition to the height limit and parking requirements,” McKenna said.

A zoning change and General Plan amendment would require four-fifths approval of the City Council, whereas variances can be granted by a simple majority.

McKenna said the size and scope of the project make it better suited for a different location, such as the downtown redevelopment zone where high-rises are permitted or on larger vacant parcels elsewhere in the city.

“I am well aware that there is a need for senior housing in the community--particularly for moderate- and lower-income seniors,” McKenna said. “But there are other properties that are properly zoned and vacant that would be appropriate.”

The proposed site now has a carwash, automotive garages and other commercial businesses.

Plans for the project, called Crossroads, will be submitted to the city this week. The project is to be privately financed and 10% of the units reserved for low-income seniors.

Fred Pelletier, housing chairman of the Greater Glendale Council on Aging, which served as consultants, endorsed the project. “I don’t know of a better place to put one in Glendale,” he said. “Our group feels it will enhance the southern part of the city.”

Partners in the project include California Lutheran Homes, specialists in retirement homes, which will serve as manager, and Glendale Memorial Hospital.

Crossroads would provide “a full spectrum of senior living,” its advocates say, from units that would be occupied by senior citizens capable of living independently to housing designed to serve elderly people who need more assistance with medication, housekeeping and meals.

Retail space on the ground floor would include shops, medical offices and a restaurant.

The 480,000-square-foot complex would consist of three buildings--eight, 10 and 13 stories--arranged in a triangle around a plaza. Underground valet parking is planned for 440 vehicles.

All units would have a living room, kitchen and bathroom. Five hundred-square-foot, one-bedroom units are to rent for $895 a month. About 50 will be set aside for low-income seniors and rented for $450 a month, Rostamian said. Two-bedroom units are to cost $1,145 a month.