MAILBAG - July 8, 2006
Permit acceptance must have a reason
As a past patron of the KIX restaurant, it was with interest that I read the article in the Glendale News-Press on July 3 (“Phoenicia to rise from ashes of KIX restaurant”). I have observed the expansion of the building for some time, curious as to the final results at 343 N. Central Ave.
It was disturbing to read that the owner received a parking-reduction permit. Why was that allowed? There was previously limited parking. With a capacity of 300 after the expansion, I suspect that it will become a banquet hall rather than a regular restaurant.
With at least two high-rise condominium developments planned within two blocks on either side of the restaurant on Central Avenue, the reduced parking requirement for KIX will only exacerbate the parking problem in the area. Again, I ask, and want to know, why KIX received a parking reduction permit?
DONALD MCPOLAND
Glendale
Forum letter alienated some
Dear Ray Shelton,
“What lies behind us and what lies in front of us are small matters compared to what lies within us.”
I don’t know where that quote originated, but it surely is worth remembering.
Your Letter to the Editor (“Still facing a battle for dignity”) on June 13 was very touching, but unfair to straight people, who care deeply for those they love who have died of AIDS.
President George W. Bush and his ilk may feel gays and lesbians are disposable, but then it seems he would like to dispose of anyone who doesn’t follow him blindly into oblivion.
As for those that do believe in Bush almighty, they are now in the minority. Believe it or not, Bush is no longer much more than a lame duck. Even the Republicans are getting wise.
Things change all the time, sometimes for the better and sometimes not. But your attitude has a lot to do with how you see life. If you feel you can’t change the world, or the world around you, then work on changing yourself. “Attitudes are the real disabilities.” I don’t know who said that either, but both quotes are to live by.
Don’t figure yourself unloved or alone, feeling others are not concerned. We all feel that way at times. I’m not gay, Jewish, black, etc., but I’m a woman, fat and older than 40. Don’t you think I have reason to feel life sucks sometimes? I respect all people to some degree, but that doesn’t mean I have to like those who look down on, or ignore, others. I used to have a bumper sticker that said, “Hate is not a family trait.” And wouldn’t you know it, somebody keyed my car.
JULIANNE SPILLMAN
Glendale
Tree saga will turn on council moves
This letter is in response to your request for opinions on the 2644 Kennington Drive case, where a mature tree will be cut down to build a house (“Oak tree still stands, house plan in limbo,” June 29).
What is happening down at City Hall?
I can remember when the City Council and city staffers were advocates for our neighborhoods and protected our great oak trees.
Today, the council and staff are assisting developers in their efforts to overcrowd our hills with large houses and destroy mature oak trees in the process.
Tuning in to the council meeting on June 27, I watched in disbelief as yet another steep and sub-standard lot was being endorsed for development by our City Council. It seems that the excessive slope is no longer an issue for them.
They now completely ignore the guidelines within the hillside ordinance. How can they do that? Is it legal for a sitting council to circumvent existing law by repeatedly granting exceptions for their developer friends?
They are obviously so smug that they feel they can get away with it.
The only thing that prevented them from rubber-stamping yet another steep lot was the mature oak tree on the property. The developer wants to build a big house and this pesky old tree is in the way.
Instead of demanding that the man design a smaller house to save the tree, the city staff and zoning commissioners say cut it down. Since the decision was delayed for a few weeks, it will be interesting to see if the council agrees with them.
Or if they will bend and twist the code again by changing the required setback so that this house can be wedged in.
That way they can beat their breast and stomp their feet and claim that they’ve saved the oak tree.
But sadly, the hillside ordinance, enacted to protect our hillsides, will lay in tatters at their feet.
JEAN SEARS
Glendale
City pays for cars on cleaned streets
I called the city and asked for no-parking signs on street-cleaning day. I was told it was not cost-effective to put up signs for a half-block-long cul-de-sac.
Today the sweeper came and almost cleaned our half-block-long street with 20 parked cars.
The question is, is it cost effective?
WARREN E. DOUGLASS
Glendale