Council OKs Broadway Renovation : Development: Opponents object to the cost and argue that work on the $2.3-million project will hurt businesses already suffering in the recession.

After weeks of debate and despite protests from landowners and tenants, the City Council on Tuesday voted 3 to 2 to proceed with a controversial $2.3-million beautification project on Broadway.

The council accepted a low bid from Premier Engineering Inc. to renovate a four-block area of Broadway between Louise Street and Glendale Avenue with new paving, gutters and storm drains and to install patterned sidewalks and crosswalks, new lights, trees and benches.

The five-month project is scheduled to be completed by November.

Opponents object to the timing of the project, saying the construction work will further hurt their businesses in a recession, and also to the cost. They are considering legal action, based on the state Improvement Act of 1911. Critics say that under the act, formation of the assessment district required a four-fifths vote by the council because more than half of the private property owners filed objections.

City Atty. Scott Howard, however, said the 3-2 vote was sufficient because private landowners account for only 28% of holdings in the district, which includes three large government facilities.

The Glendale Civic Center, the main Glendale Post Office and a Los Angeles County Courthouse make up 44% of the land in the district, Howard said. The taxpayer-owned facilities will not be assessed for improvements.

Landowners and tenants contend that they cannot afford to pay for improvements, even though the city has agreed to fund about 85% of the total project cost and delay initial assessments against property owners for at least two years.

About $385,000 of the project cost will be levied against 25 property owners, who will be given up to 11 years to pay their share. The cost per owner is estimated at $235 per frontage foot plus 6.5% annual interest.

On Tuesday, opponents John and Nida Brown said they are unsure how many property owners would be willing to share the cost of court and legal fees. The Browns, lawyers who own several buildings in the 400 block of East Broadway, said legal advisers with expertise in state assessment laws may have to be hired. The Browns estimated that their share of the assessments would be $70,000 to $80,000.

In an effort to stem objections, the city has pledged to reduce the impact of construction and to speed completion of the project with steps including scheduling work crews into the night. The city also agreed to bear the estimated $10,000 cost of delaying initial assessment payments with deferred interest.

Officials said the unusually low bid for the project--an estimated $435,000 savings because of keen competition among recession-plagued contractors--justifies the concessions by the city.

Mayor Carl Raggio and Councilwoman Ginger Bremberg voted against the project. Council members Eileen Givens, Dick Jutras and Larry Zarian voted for it.