Aloft hotel project moves forward after City Council denies Glendale residents’ appeal

Plans to build a six-story hotel on Brand Boulevard near a residential neighborhood were upheld by the City Council Tuesday after nearby homeowners tried to appeal its initial approval.

Last month, the city’s Design Review Board gave the go-ahead for an Aloft hotel at 1100 N. Brand Blvd., — the site of the now closed Recess Eatery.

The council upheld the board’s decision with a 4-1 vote.

But residents who filed the appeal claimed the development is too big for the area and would negatively impact their quality of life.

One of the appellants, Sean Bersell, told council members the inclusion of a rooftop bar could pose one of the biggest concerns.

“[The hotel] is going to tower over the neighborhood,” he said. “All that noise and light is going to go right into the neighborhood.”

Bersell and the appellants requested an independent environmental impact report be conducted on the proposed project, but council members agreed with staffers that one wasn’t necessary.

The staff’s own review found none of the impacts on issues such as traffic and noise surpassed state standards in order to trigger an environmental impact report.

The Aloft hotel will have 85 rooms and a ground-floor restaurant, which Councilman Vartan Gharpetian said would be good for promoting foot traffic.

Rodney Khan, a consultant on the project said the hotel and its height — around 80 feet — is permitted by right.

Councilman Zareh Sinanyan said while the design might be too big for the area, a hotel might have the least impacts.

“There’s other things the developer can do with this lot by right, which can be I think for the neighborhood be far worse than what the neighbors perceive this project to present for them,” he said.

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Councilman Ara Najarian said Brand Boulevard is where projects like the Aloft belong, despite the proposed site, which is just outside the main hub of downtown.

“It is still in our downtown,” he said. “It might not be in our business district, but this is still part of downtown Glendale. I’m sorry for the folks that live a few streets down, but this abutts our highest-density residential [neighborhood]. Not just residential, highest-density residential.”

Najarian also pointed out that there were other six-story buildings near the project site.

But Councilwoman Laura Friedman, who cast the sole dissenting vote, said she believes the hotel is a “large, boxy building” that might be a better fit in another part of downtown Glendale or along San Fernando Road.

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Arin Mikailian, arin.mikailian@latimes.com

Twitter: @ArinMikailian

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