City to reward urban design

Josh Kleinbaum

The list of adjectives people have used to describe Glendale’s design

review process for new developments and significant improvements

includes onerous, laborious, expensive and even painful.

Now, Glendale’s planning department is adding a new adjective --

rewarding.

The city is launching the Glendale Urban Design Achievement

Awards, which will recognize members of the community who build

developments that enhance beauty, livability and prosperity for the

city.

“It’s a great opportunity for people in the community to reflect

on what they find attractive,” Planning Director Elaine Wilkerson

said. “So often, people identify what they don’t like. This gives

people a chance to say what they do like.”

The awards will recognize developments in five categories --

residential, commercial/retail, mixed use, industrial and

institutional. Any building built after 1986, when the city began its

design review process, is eligible. The city will hold a reception

for the winners, probably in early February, and the winners will

receive commendations from the City Council.

“We were demanding so much for people to do great work, yet there

was no reward for them,” said Alen Malekian, an architect who chairs

one of the city’s design review boards. “It’s a great encouragement

for everyone to be able to get an award and be acknowledged by the

council and the planning office.”

Malekian said he will encourage the owners of some of his

developments to nominate the projects, including the Sidewalk Cafe at

Glenoaks Boulevard and Highland Avenue.

So far, the lack of nominations has been the biggest problem with

the awards.

Two weeks after posting a notice of the awards on its website, the

city has not received a single nomination, Wilkerson said.

Nomination forms are available at

www.ci.glendale.ca.us/government/planning, or by calling 548-2140.

The deadline is Nov. 30.

“Architects are always looking for something to be on the cutting

edge, as well as something they can show their clients that they’ve

done good work,” said Curt Sturgill, a partner at Cooper Sturgill

Architects. “I think it’s a great idea.”