GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL MEETING PREVIEW

WIRELESS MORATORIUM

City attorneys today will request an extension of the city’s existing moratorium on wireless communications facilities in residential zones as stakeholders continue to draft regulations to address aesthetics and other neighborhood concerns.

The City Council adopted a three-month moratorium on all new cellular facilities in January after northwest Glendale residents organized against a proposed T-Mobile antenna in their neighborhood.

The moratorium, which is set to expire in about two weeks, was to allow city officials enough time to draft a set of city regulations what would govern the scale, size and aesthetics of future neighborhood cellular antennas.

Federal regulations sap most discretionary review from local agencies when it comes to communications facilities, but city attorneys have working to craft regulations that would exert at least some control over how and where they are built, especially within residential zones.

The amendment under consideration today would extend the moratorium an additional 120 days.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The City Council will likely approve the extension to allow more time for attorneys, and various stakeholders, to hammer out the regulations.

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PUBLIC NOTICING

The City Council will consider codifying a revised set of guidelines for notifying the public of upcoming projects, meetings and events.

Legally required procedures, such as listing relevant information to those living within a 500-foot radius, will remain intact, but city officials are recommending a number of additional measures, including greater use of electronic media.

Public notices would also be translated into multiple languages and disseminated at least two weeks prior to the event, under the proposed policy. Interested stakeholders who sign up in advance would also be contacted through a “mass phone communication system.”

WHAT TO EXPECT

The City Council may modify some of the proposed guidelines, before likely adopting a revised policy.

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PARKING CONTRACT

The City Council today will consider a $5.75-million contract with a new private firm to operate the city’s parking facilities.

The proposed 39-month contract with Modern Parking Inc. comes with options for two one-year extensions to maintain the city’s parking garages at the Exchange, Civic Center, Marketplace, Orange Street and the Amtrak-Metrolink station.

Also included in the proposal is an additional $725,546 to facilitate the transition from Parking Concepts Inc. through March 31.

City officials have determined the city stands to save hundreds of thousands of dollars by switching over to Modern Parking Inc.

The contract is to maintain and operate the parking garages, and do not affect the parking rates.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The City Council will likely hear from the existing contractor, Parking Concepts, which filed a protest letter contesting Modern Parking’s lower bid.