Industrial Area Rezoning Gets Preliminary OK : * Development: Plan covers 622 acres along San Fernando Road and the Southern Pacific Railroad. Proposal goes to the Redevelopment Agency.

The Glendale Planning Commission on Monday adopted preliminary plans and boundaries for a redevelopment zone in the industrial area along San Fernando Road and the Southern Pacific Railroad.

The proposed plan encompasses 622 acres along the western border of the city, parallel with the Golden State Freeway (5) and the Los Angeles city boundary from the southern tip of Glendale north to Burbank.

The zone would exclude two large residential areas, one at the southern end and the other tucked into a pocket of the Grand Central industrial area next to the Golden State Freeway.

Also excluded is a 10-acre site near San Fernando Road and Colorado Street, where a Home Club discount store is under construction, said Jeanne Armstrong, redevelopment director.

Commissioners approved the preliminary plan by a 3-1 vote. The plan now goes to the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, which is expected to act within a few weeks. Actual formation of the zone will take about a year and include hearings before the commission, agency and council.

Planning Commissioner Claudia Culling opposed the zone, saying she does not consider the area to be sufficiently blighted. But Martha Packard of the redevelopment consulting firm KatzHollis said a survey of the area found “a preponderance of blight” that qualifies the area for redevelopment under state rules.

A redevelopment zone would allow the city to acquire a share of property tax money that could be used to buy land and buildings for new development, such as for other large discount retail stores.

City planning officials said large retailers in the past have complained that commercial and industrial parcels in the area are too small for development. The designation would give the city the power to acquire several contiguous parcels to assemble larger development sites. The city also could buy land that developers consider too expensive and could sell it at a discount to developers. Once the land is improved, the city could recoup its money from increased taxes.

Culling said she is concerned that such plans would drive out small businesses and erode the city’s employment base. But Planning Director John McKenna said businesses that want to expand are being forced out of the city in order to find affordable land. “If Glendale is to keep pace, redevelopment is one of the ways to accomplish it,” he said.

The tax money also could be used to build commuter rail transportation lines and stations along the Southern Pacific Railroad corridor, Armstrong said. Improvements to streets, landscaping and utilities could significantly alter the appearance of the area, she said.

The size of the proposed new zone was pared down from more than 800 acres included in an initial study area last spring. The downtown redevelopment zone--the city’s only existing redevelopment project--covers 263 acres along Brand Boulevard.

NEXT STEP

The redevelopment zone proposal now goes to the Glendale Redevelopment Agency, which will form a committee of property owners and officials to oversee the approval process. County officials will review the plan and an environmental impact study will be ordered. Studies will be completed by early fall, and public hearings will be scheduled. A final City Council vote could be scheduled before the end of the year.