Glendale Portrait : Planning for Growth, Managing Change

It was more than 200 years ago that a Spanish soldier in the king’s service, Jose Maria Verdugo, petitioned the governor of California for permission to raise cattle and horses under the sycamore trees and ancient oaks of the verdant foothills that eventually became Glendale.

Permission was granted on Oct. 20, 1784, by Gov. Pedro Fages, marking the beginning of Rancho de San Rafael, only the second such land grant in California and one of the largest.

Today, the name Rancho de San Rafael is more familiar to the 190,000 residents as the largest and most controversial hillside development ever approved in Glendale. The issue epitomizes current affairs: planned growth, preservation of views, natural resources and wildlife, and a constant quest for a better quality of life imbued with a respect for history.

History

The name “Glendale” was officially adopted in 1884 when six people filed a map of the 150-acre town site with the county recorder. By the time the “Jewel of the Verdugos” was incorporated in 1906 it had grown to 1,486 acres, and today has a land area of 30.6 square miles. Its population makes it the third largest of 84 cities in Los Angeles County.

Historic sites abound throughout the city, from century-old adobe and wooden farm houses to such classic structures as the Alex Theatre and Masonic Temple. The Grand Central Airport Tower is a mute reminder of the city’s early link with pioneer aviation.

Community Issues

Transportation is the issue of the decade in Glendale, where government and private leaders have joined forces to resolve parking and traffic congestion. The city has pledged local funds to help develop regional rail systems, stations and make other improvements.

Economic development is a primary concern as the city and businesses work for ways to survive the recession and provide services more efficiently.

Hillside preservation, growth control and cultural development are priorities on the planning agenda for the 21st Century.

Changing Faces

The Midwest flavor of Glendale as a bedroom suburb of Los Angeles has dissipated after two decades of redevelopment and so has the predominance of its white, upper-class, English-speaking population. A growing international racial ethnic blend is particularly evident in the schools where minorities account for 40% of the population.

Armenians, in particular, are taking a greater role in the community and in business and government decision-making. Students in the schools with roots in the Middle East now account for almost one-third of the elementary and secondary enrollment in public schools, according to the latest school district survey.

Community Profile

Based on 1990 U. S. Census figures

Statistics

Size: 30.6 square miles

Population: 180,038

Median age: 34.3

Average single-family home value: $343,600

Number of households: 68,804

Persons per household: 3.2

Population over 25 with bachelor’s degree: 19.5%

Population below poverty level: 14.4%

Income

Average household income is xx% higher/lower than the Los Angeles average Northeast Valley: $44,444 Citywide average: $45,701 Glendale: $46,703

Southeast Valley: $48,182 Northwest Valley: $56,427 Southwest Valley: $61,722 Ethnicity

Anglo: 64%

Latino: 21%

Asian: 14%

African-American: 1%

Sources: Los Angeles Planning Department analysis of 1990 U. S. census data

Research by: Martha Willman