Proposed Glenoaks project scaled back

A proposed mixed-use project on the site of a former Bob’s Big Boy in Northwest Glendale has been significantly scaled back, satisfying initial opponents of the development.

The City Council unanimously shot down plans to build a 74-unit condo project with ground floor retail at 1407 W. Glenoaks Blvd. last December.

The developer, Pasadena-based American General Design, went back to the drawing board, returning with a 55-unit apartment complex with no retail. It’s also lower in height, standing at three stories or 34-feet tall, less than the five stories originally sought. Next door is a three-story hotel.

There will be 38-one bedroom units and 17 two-bedroom units, according to a staff report.

Initial plans required a City Council vote because the developer was looking for a series of exceptions to city building rules.

But since everything was scaled back to within the confines of city code, the only approvals required were that of the planning hearing officer and the Design Review Board, which gave its blessing in March.

Now, the developer is getting ready to submit the paperwork for plan check, said Rodney Khan, a consultant for the project.

Khan said he doesn’t know when construction would begin, but said it would last about 18 to 20 months when it does.

When she voted against the initial plan, Councilwoman Paula Devine said the scale of the project was too large for the mostly residential neighborhood.

The dozens of concerned residents that packed the council chambers agreed.

But things are different now with everything to code.

“As long as the neighbors are OK with it and the powers at be in planning are OK with it, it will be a good project for the location,” she said.

Peter Fuad, president of the Northwest Glendale Homeowners Assn., said he was content with the project because it got rid of the commercial space and the uncertainty of what kind of tenant would move in.

Residents that spoke against the original development plans said they weren’t against building something on an otherwise desolate lot, but it needed to fit within the neighborhood.

Fuad said he was also glad the originally planned driveway on the western edge of the project site near Sonora Avenue was moved further east, so there would be no problems of getting in and out near the intersection.

“[The revised project] eliminated the retail and corrects the driveway problems that were identified … it’s satisfactory, it’s fine,” Fuad said.

Devine added the smaller project is a result of good communication between city staffers and the residents.

Fuad said he hopes the ordeal will make prospective developers think twice about building something too big in Northwest Glendale.