Glendale holds off on hillside development regulations

The City Council this week decided to hold off on finalizing regulations for hillside development until two affected neighborhoods go through the city’s community planning process.

Glendale has been grappling with ways to regulate hillside development since 2004. Most of the problems were worked out in 2008, but a few remain.

The remaining hillside issues relate to floor area ratios, parking requirements and setbacks, according to a city report.

Planning officials recently completed the city’s first community plan, which lays out visions and adjusts city rules to meet what residents living in North Glendale want. Next up is South Glendale, which includes Adams Hill. Chevy Chase Canyon also will be included in a planning process.

Although residents at Tuesday’s meeting said they like the idea of community input, some said they’d been through it before and the process takes too long. The city held dozens of meetings when first it developed the hillside ordinance, but the most complicated issues were left to linger.

It took three years to complete the North Glendale plan, but Community Development Director Hassan Haghani said the next ones should be complete in one to two years.

-- Brittany Levine, Times Community News

Twitter: @brittanylevine