Glendale Rancho Residents Oppose a Proposed 64-Unit Three-Story Hotel at 1633 S. Victory Blvd.

Posted on September 17, 2018 by novictoryhotel.org

Why We Oppose a Proposed 64-Unit Three-Story Hotel at 1633 S. Victory Blvd., Glendale Rancho 91201
(A block from Benjamin Franklin Elementary School)
Design Review Board Case No. PDR 1723012

City of Glendale Director of Community Development, Philip Lanzafame, approved on May 3, 2018, an Initial Study prepared by the Planning Division that this project “as mitigated” would not have a significant effect on the environment, and instructed that it be submitted to the Design Review Board process. Planner, Dennis Joe, is overseeing the project (DJoe@GlendaleCA.gov) 818-937-8157. Property owner/applicant is Jayesh Kumar of Los Angeles.

The proposal via 10-day public notice and on-site sign went before the DRB on June 14 where it was rejected unanimously by all five board members, and received largely-negative resident input at the oral comments period from residents and members of the Glendale Rancho Neighborhood Association. These include concerns re:

  1. The location vis a vis homes, a school, and a daycare facility in this densely-residential and historic-equestrian neighborhood near large parks.
  2. Traffic intensity at the nearby Western Ave.-Victory Blvd. intersection and 24/7 commuter and commercial traffic including that associated with adjacent businesses such as the Chevron station, large mini-mall, restaurant, auto repair shops, and area equine events.
  3. Proposed use of the public alleyway for entry/exit to a two-level subterranean parking facility that would impact neighborhood use of that alley to access its residential garages.
  4. The design’s height, bulk and mass, room count.
  5. Inadequate concern for adjacent residential impacts re views, light and shadow, noise, parking, minimal hotel exterior landscaping v. concrete surfaces due to the project’s overly-large footprint, and more.

Both the public and board criticized the design’s exterior colors, size, architectural interior and exterior plan flaws, alley location of the underground garage entrance/exit, siting of the second-floor swimming pool, lack of guest and taxi vehicle drop-off, and more. The DRB stamped it “Return for Redesign with Conditions”.

Since then, the owner and his associates which include the manager of The Capri Motel on San Fernando Road, Anand Desai, offered two outreach events advertised with fliers delivered to a handful of neighbors, with scant notice and held at obscure locations, at which resident concerns were not adequately addressed and left a less-than professional impression of the applicant.

The 1633 S. Victory property is zoned Commercial but increasingly, residents say this is the wrong project in the wrong place. The owner, his associates, and the city can do better for Rancho residents by respecting and enhancing quality of life in this unique neighborhood via a different project.  One that demonstrates a purpose, design, and landscaping more in keeping with the natural, aesthetic, and historic aspects of the Rancho and surrounding communities to replace the owner’s current eyesore.

NOTE! DRB will review the applicant’s modifications on THURS., JAN. 10 AT  5 P.M. in Rm. 105 at 633 E Broadway Ave. adjacent to Glendale City Hall.   Ample free parking in the structure behind, on Wilson Ave. Please attend and use the three-minute period to state your opposition, after signing in.

Residents privy to intimidating applicant comments re hypothetical “worse” proposals for the site may disregard same as false alternatives.

You are urged to share your concerns now to planner Dennis Joe and Design Review Board contact Vilia Zemaitaitis. By U. S. mail: Planning Dept., 633 E. Broadway, Glendale 91206.  Email “To” Dennis Joe DJoe@GlendaleCA.gov and Vilia Zemaitaitis  VZemaitaitis@GlendaleCA.gov with “CC” Phillip Lanzafame PLanzafame@GlendaleCA.gov!

You’ll be reminded about the Jan. 10 DRB meeting (in red above), but may attend any upcoming prior DRB meeting to speak out at the open oral communications period set aside for matters “not on the agenda” that particular evening.  Do refer to PDR 1723012. They’re held at 5 P.M. on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays at the location (in red above), unless cancelled. Check “Upcoming Events” and ‘Design Review Board’ at https://www.glendaleca.gov/government/departments/city-clerk/agendas-minutes.

For more information check www.NoVictoryHotel.org for updates or visit www.ProtectTheRancho.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

This entry was posted in Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, Burbank, Glendale, Glendale Design Review Board, Riverside Rancho and tagged , . Bookmark the permalink.

5 Responses to Glendale Rancho Residents Oppose a Proposed 64-Unit Three-Story Hotel at 1633 S. Victory Blvd.

  1. David C Quackenbush says:
    October 22, 2018 at 7:52 am

    No Hotel in Residential Neighborhood is needed or wanted.

    Reply
  2. LARRY K says:
    November 4, 2018 at 6:01 pm

    THE WEBSITE NEEDS TO BE UPDATED !!!
    THE PROPERTY NO LONGER APPEARS ON LOOPNET.COM

    BUT THERE ARE NO UNDERGROUND GARAGES ALONG VICTORY BLVD.
    YEARS AGO, DISNEY FCU / CREDIT CENTER, TRIED & THE CARWASH ON
    VICTORY & RIVERSIDE TRIED…. BUT DUE TO SOIL CONDITIONS/ LIQUIFICATION FACTORS ETC. WAS TURNED DOWN BY THE PLANNING DEPT.

    Reply
    • novictoryhotel.org says:
      November 5, 2018 at 12:33 pm

      The developer was called out on that loopnet page at their meeting on November 1st. Their claim was they were only ‘testing the waters’ for buyers, but it is no longer for sale. They also offered excuses such as loopnet changed ownership and the ‘data is old’ pending page updates. The removal of the page from loopnet was done after the developer found out it was discovered by local residents.

      Additionally, one of the hotel development team said that it is off the market now (officially) ‘but, who knows, may be for sale (again) in six months.’
      We were surprised he let that slip. It sounded like a lot of excuse making, or doublespeak, indicating an intention to ultimately sell it.

      As of the time of this reply, the following ad for the property is still publicly online:
      http://looplink.remaxcir.com/ll/20268767/1633-Victory-Blvd/
      Fully Entiteld Hotel Development Burbank/Glendale
      Glendale, CA, 91201

      Very interesting to hear about the carwash at Victory and Riverside. It does not seem especially smart to utilize underground parking in that area.

      Reply
  3. Divi D. says:
    November 11, 2018 at 4:15 pm

    Really? You people would rather have an ugly and hazardous eyesore that is the auto service yard be there instead of a small, boutique hotel? Victory Blvd needs an identity as well as better uses for the neighborhood. 64 units is the size of an apartment complex, just like the one next to it. I’d much rather have this hotel instead of walking past the current dump that is there.

    Reply
    • novictoryhotel.org says:
      November 15, 2018 at 8:01 pm

      As we have explained here:

      Our choice is not merely between the current owner/developer neglected eyesore and what the developer thinks is good for the Rancho.
      We have a say in what goes there and have a right to point out what is so completely wrong about the proposed development.

      You call it a “boutique” hotel. But 64 units is not a “boutique” hotel.
      Do you know how the 64-unit number was obtained? It is a number determined by a loan officer based on profitability without any regard for the neighborhood or surrounding Rancho area. And what you describe as “roughly the same size as a modest apartment complex” is not what the developer’s proposed plans show. The footprint of the hotel is expected to take almost the entire area of the lot. They have to do this to meet their 64-unit return on investment study. With two similar hospitality businesses nearby that don’t come close to meeting their own 12-unit capacity, it’s clear that this is an unneeded development of convenience and developer profit with zero consideration for the surrounding area. The design requires any lines waiting to get into the hotel to line up in the alleyway, not their own property. It also includes three story building adjacent to R-1 residential properties. Property Owners on Winchester Ave. and Garden St. simply don’t want the invasion of privacy. They also don’t want a business running 24/7/365 in an area/lot where all previous other commercial establishments ran primarily only during regular business hours 9:00-5:00.

      If you want to make further comparisons to apartment buildings, the one nearby holds only 29 units vs. the proposed 64 units. Also, apartments and hotels are fundamentally different. One holds neighborhood residents, paying rent month to month. The hotel brings in a transient population, unknowns with no ties to the neighborhood. That’s a risk factor that neighborhood parents and Benjamin Franklin Elementary School parents don’t want. You can call that “silly,” but concerns for child safety are not “silly” to the parents involved. Additionally longtime residents are aware of the years of illegal dumping of auto fluids and toxins into the ground into which they want to dig a two-story underground parking complex. Research into the proposed hotel shows that their environmental studies overlooked/neglected to test the areas of the lot in question. The environmental concerns of the neighborhood and nearby school are not “silly” either.

      We are in full agreement with you that the junk cars need to go and the lot needs to be cleaned up. For 19 months the current owners have neglected to do so for the sake of saving money on a lot that they are not yet sure they can develop. Their neglect of the lot has also resulted in the population of MANY feral cats who are attracted to the rodents on the property, a health hazard.

      But this is more than an either/or decision about which is the better eye-candy. Just because something looks better (and that’s only an artists rendering, not reality) doesn’t mean it’s right for the Rancho or its residents.

      Those opposed to the hotel development are correct to do so in favor of something that really serves the community. The hotel will bring ZERO services to local residents (including hotel rooms for those unwilling to spend $220 and up per night). No shops, no professional services, no restaurants, and NO JOBS. The hotel developers claim they will have only a staff of one or two.

      Unfortunately, what neighbors can look forward to is alley congestion for ALL apartment and private home residents along Western Ave. and Winchester Ave. who use it to access their parking areas. They can also expect noise and congestion from various supplies delivery, vendors, Uber drivers dropping off passengers, and hotel services at any given time of the day or night. Victory Blvd. and Western Ave. – which serve as major traffic arteries between the 5 and 134 freeways – will become even more congested. Auto accidents will become more frequent (and we’ve already seen several traffic deaths at Victory and Western). To prevent accidents caused by hotel clientele trying to make left turns into the alley from Victory Blvd, or left from the alley onto Victory Blvd., will require several new traffic restrictions and signage (which will likely often be ignored by many drivers for convenience).

      Again, we agree with you that the current condition of the lot is unacceptable. However we want future development to be something that serves the community, not something that serves the the developers and hotel owners exclusively at the neighborhood’s expense. We want a development that enhances the Rancho, benefiting its residents and school, not a project that merely exploits the Rancho for profit.

      We would also like to add that you too may take action if you are unhappy about the current condition and appearance of the lot. Contact Glendale Neighborhood Services at 818-548-3700 and request code enforcement at 1633 S. Victory.
      It is a simple case of owner neglect (and has been for 19 months). There are numerous health concerns on that lot.
      Among them are:
      -Rodents
      -Feral cats (actively breeding until recent neighborhood intervention)
      -Animal feces (and remains of deceased animals left to decompose)
      -Large amounts of litter including human and animal food containers
      -Health hazards like automotive fluid containers and their contents
      -Debris such as automobile seats, auto body parts, and mechanic equipment
      -Fire hazards including piles of cardboard, accumulations of dried leaves and branches, unused and dried lumber, and other flammable chemicals and materials.

      Reply

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