Council Quick Take is here to give you the breakdown on the City’s Weekly Council Meetings. On July 21, 2020, Council met for afternoon sessions, as well as their regularly scheduled Council Meeting.
Joint Meeting: City Council and Housing Authority
City Attorney, re: Consideration of Amendment to By-laws of Glendale Housing Authority Pertaining to Qualifications of Tenant Commissioners. In May 1978, the Glendale Housing Authority amended their By-laws to include two tenant commissioners joining the five elected Council Members as commissioners making up the full Authority body. The By-laws directed the two tenant commissioners to come from the ranks for those enrolled in the Choice Voucher Program (Section 8). Over the last five years, the Housing Authority has had difficulty recruiting and retaining tenant commissioners from the pool of HCV tenants. To enlarge the pool of potential tenant commissioners, the City Council and Housing Authority were to consider an amendment to the By-laws allowing one of the two tenant commissioners to come from tenants of the Housing Authority’s many new development affordable housing projects; under federal regulations, the other Commissioner is required to come from the HCV program. Due to the lateness of the other afternoon meetings, the Council/Authority continued the item to July 28, 2020. View the Report Here
Special Meeting: Glendale City Council
Community Development, re: Requested Update of Downtown Specific Plan (DSP) Standards a Year Following Adoption, and Miscellaneous Proposed Code Cleanups (Continued from 7/7/2020) On March 26, 2019, City Council adopted two ordinances: an urgency ordinance to amend the DSP and an ordinance to amend GMC Chapter 30.32 regarding hotel parking. At the time, Council asked that this item be brought back in one year to provide an update and any considerations to fine tune the Plan that may be necessary. In reviewing the amended plan, Council directed staff to study a variety of areas for future amendments including: sustainability standards, transfer of development rights, density measurement (FAR), drive-thru and tandem parking allowances as well as design review considerations; requiring projects in the Downtown Specific Plan area to go to the Design Review Board for review and comment before being heard by the City Council; and elimination of the incentive for hotels. Finally, the Council discussed study of minimum unit size and asked for the item to be agendized when a full Council could consider the policy. All items will be scheduled for final Council consideration in the form of code amendments. View the Report Here
Housing Authority
Community Development, re: Request for Proposals for an Affordable Housing Development at 515 Pioneer Drive. In October 2019, the Housing Authority acquired the 2.8 acre site from AT&T for a total price of $13.1M. It is the Housing Authority’s intention to develop the property with 270-300 or more affordable rental housing units for seniors and families of extremely-low, very-low and low-income households. Staff was directed to issue a Request for Proposals to qualified affordable housing developers to submit their plans for developing the site consistent with the Housing Authority’s direction to maximize the number of units on the site while using architectural features to address the surrounding neighborhood; the Authority did not wish to mix product type including for-sale housing. The deadline for submissions is November 2, 2020. Staff anticipates having a recommended developer partner for Housing Authority consideration in late December 2020 or early January 2021. View the Report Here
Community Development, re: Request for Qualifications for Affordable Housing Developments at 900-920 East Broadway and 117 South Belmont Street. In September 2019, the Housing Authority acquired the 1.6 acre Tobinworld site, a school for developmentally disabled students, for $12.1M; the site was offered for sale with plans to close the school. It is the Housing Authority’s intention to split the site into two parcels for development of approximately 80 new construction family units on one site and around 39 units in a combination of adaptively reused historic structures and new construction. Staff was directed to issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) to affordable housing developers soliciting their qualifications and experience to develop the sites consistent with the Housing Authority’s plan outlined in the RFQ. The deadline for submission is September 14, 2020 for the new construction site and October 5, 2020 for the historic site. Staff anticipates having a recommended developer partner for Housing Authority consideration in October 2020 and November 2020 respectively. View the Report Here
Glendale City Council Meeting
City Attorney, re: COVID-19 Update; Consideration of Extension or Amendment of Public Orders on Residential Eviction Moratorium, Residential Rent Increase Freeze and Face Coverings; Enforcement of Face Coverings and other Public Health Orders The Glendale City Council extended the Face Covering Order through at least August 31, 2020. Council also affirmed the imposition of fines for those who do not comply with the Public Order to wear a face covering. Under the Order, businesses can refuse service to any person who does not wear a face covering or fails to comply with social distancing. The Order, as previously written, authorizes administrative citations for failing to wear face coverings, for individuals and businesses not in compliance, as $400 for a first violation, $1,000 for a second violation, and $2,000 for a third violation. View the Order. Additionally, staff was directed to report back to Council with a Public Order authorizing the issuance of administrative citations for regulations in the County Health Officer Order.
The Glendale City Council extended an existing temporary moratorium on residential evictions and rent increases in response to the COVID-19 health emergency through August 31, 2020, unless extended. A written notice of a tenant’s inability to pay rent must be provided to the landlord on or before the rent is due. Effective for rent due August 1, 2020, a written notice of a tenant’s inability to pay rent must be provided to the landlord in writing on or before the date the rent is due, along with verifiable documentation establishing the tenant’s inability to pay due to COVID-19. Such documentation may include termination notices, payroll checks, pay stubs, bank statements, medical bills, child care bills, or signed letters or statements from an employer or supervisor explaining the tenant’s changed financial circumstances to support the tenant’s assertion of an inability to pay due to COVID-19. View rent freeze and eviction moratorium information.
City Manager, re: Fostering Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion In the City of Glendale As part of an long-term effort to foster diversity, equity, and inclusion, City Council approved the City’s membership in the local and regional Government Alliance on Race & Equity (GARE). GARE is a national network of government working to achieve racial equity and advance opportunities for all. Joining GARE will provide staff with access to the organization’s resources, network, and staff to develop and present an action plan for consideration and discussion by City Council. Staff is currently reviewing all available historic documents to examine and understand Glendale’s history as it pertains to racist laws and practices. View the full Report to Council.
A panel discussion on racism, past and present, is being presented by the City on Thursday, July 30, at 6:30 pm. More information regarding this panel can be found here
Community Development, re: Adoption of an Urgency Ordinance Extending Discretionary Planning Entitlements until December 31, 2020. The Planning Division of the Community Development Department administers several discretionary entitlements that have gained approval through public hearing and process. Most if not all of these entitlements have a deadline on which to act. Due to the coronavirus emergency and remote working, many applicants found they were unable to act on those approved entitlements and thus they either expired or were in danger of expiring. To address the adverse situation and avoid loss of time and money through no fault of their [applicants] own, the City Council extended the entitlements through December 31, 2020. This is consistent with other approvals issued through Building & Safety related to permit expiration. View the Ordinance Here
Community Development, re: Update Regarding the City’s Transition from Level of Service (LOS) Transportation Analysis to Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) per Senate Bill 743 (SB743) SB 743 was signed into law in September 2013 and requires changes to the way traffic analysis is conducted in environmental review of new development projects and planning activities. Prior to this bill, transportation analysis of individual projects determined impacts on the circulation system in terms of Level of Service or traffic delay and/or capacity usage at specific locations, such as street intersections or roadway segments, oftentimes just adjacent to the project site. The bill required cities and agencies to change the way it analyzes transportation to look at total travel or Vehicle Miles Traveled rather than congestion at specific points. The VMT analysis takes into account a much broader impact of vehicle travel as a means to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Guidelines will be developed consistent with and specific to Glendale’s existing land uses, transportation modes and existing traffic averages. View the Report Here
The next Glendale City Council Meeting will be held on July 28, 2020 at 6:30pm. They will also meet at 3:00pm for Housing Authority as well as a Special City Council Meeting.
The meeting can be viewed on local cable: Charter Cable Channel 6 and AT&T U-verse Channel 99. Meetings can also be streamed online by visiting our Public Meeting Portal, or by tuning in to our YouTube channel.