Why Benjamin Franklin Elementary School parents should care about the 3-story, 64-room hotel proposed at 1633 S. Victory Blvd.
One block from Benjamin Franklin Elementary School on Winchester Street
I don’t live here. How does it affect me?
It has an effect on the most precious parts of our lives… our children.
Benjamin Franklin Elementary School students spend most of their active days in school. As their parents, you have a right to make your opinions known to the City of Glendale. Everyone in Glendale may sign the petition and/or speak at the Design Review Board. However, the opinions of non-Glendale residents who make use of the Rancho (parents, teachers, school administration, local employees, etc.) will also be welcomed by the city as well. Please sign the NoVictoryHotel.org online petition.
How may this impact my children attending Benjamin Franklin Elementary School?
The most immediate impact will be child safety in regards to traffic. Hotel clientele will inevitably use Lake Street, Winchester Avenue, or the alley between Western Ave. and Winchester Ave. to access the hotel’s entrance to two-level underground parking. The hotel’s customers, as well as Lyft and Uber drivers looking for drop-off points where they can avoid entering the underground garage, will increase traffic –and traffic hazards – along narrow streets and alley entrances where large numbers of students and their parents cross to and from school.
Currently there are six double-sided banner style signs along Winchester Ave. at Lake Street warning drivers to slow down and watch for pedestrians.
Sadly Glendale has seen accidents in the past involving school students.
Girl struck and killed in Glendale middle-school crosswalk | abc7.com
Winchester street is narrow and frequently congested with traffic. The addition of Uber and Lyft drivers looking to bypass the hotel underground parking structure will cause further congestion. And it will increase the risk of accidents as these drivers and other hotel traffic look for easy access points on Winchester Ave and the alley between Winchester Ave. and Western Ave. Delivery trucks (such as FedEx or UPS) will also not likely enter the underground parking and will utilize Winchester Ave., Victory Blvd., or the narrow alley to make their deliveries. Likewise, any delivery that a hotel client requests (like a pizza or courier service) will also not likely utilize the less convenient underground parking structure.
Are there other traffic issues affecting parents?
Yes. Our school already faces an increasingly difficult carpool situation. Narrow streets will suffer more congestion at all hours of the day increasing a greater potential of auto collision. It will also slow down the drop-off and pick-up process for local parents and increase the overall commute time of parents living and working in other communities.
What other safety concerns may the hotel impact?
Unlike local apartments, hotel clientele are not local area residents and are a transient population. This presents an increased potential risk of individuals in the area whose intention may be to harm a child. Though the risk is less immediate than traffic hazards, the best cure for any potential problem is to avoid it completely. We do not need an attractive swimming pool, 64 private hotel rooms, and two levels of underground parking one block away from an elementary school. As recently as 2016, an abduction attempt was made at John Marshall Elementary School in Glendale.
(LA Times) Glendale parents, police and school officials on high alert following kidnapping attempts
Environmental contamination concerns:
The proposed development site has been the location of automobile fueling stations and mechanical service stations since the 1930’s. On site auto resale businesses have serviced their cars for decades at the mechanic station located on the same site. Recent Phase I and Phase II Environmental studies have noted suspected contaminants and confirmed their presence. The private company, hired by the developer for these studies, has indicated that the risk to nearby citizens is “negligible.” However their studies admit that they are “inconclusive.” Local residents are aware of illegal contaminant dumping on the site in areas where the ground was NOT tested by the developer. The digging of a two level underground parking structure will expose local residents and the school population to contaminants present in dust raised by construction. The removal of large volumes of ground will also expose the local residents and school as it is being carried off, especially if trucks or other construction equipment utilize residential streets or the alley.
The Rancho simply doesn’t need nor want a project of this magnitude, that creates potential health hazards by requiring a large amount of digging and ground removal from the site.
Ways you can help:
- Share your concerns now by contacting Planner, Dennis Joe. You may call him at 818-548-8157. Send U. S. mail to: Planning Dept., 633 E. Broadway, Glendale 91206. Or contact him via email DJoe@GlendaleCA.gov —and “cc” City of Glendale Director of Community Development, Philip Lanzafame at PLanzafame@GlendaleCA.gov
- Sign the petition. We now have an online petition located in our right sidebar. Signatures of those opposed to the hotel development will be presented to the Design Review Board along with a recently circulated paper petition.
- Spread the word. Tell your friends, neighbors, and parents whose children attend Benjamin Franklin Elementary School. Post links to this site on your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media accounts.
- Join our mailing list for more information, new posts, and development updates. You will be notified of the next DRB agenda for PDR 1723012, which you are urged to attend and speak (they’re held at 5 pm on 2nd and 4th Thursdays in Rm. 105).
- Contact Us. Via our contact form at NoVictoryHotel.org.
I Will do my part to help stop this hotel. Can you please add me to the mailing list?
Thank you.
Thank you for your support. You have been added to our mailing list and will receive updates.
Please sign our online petition.
All Benjamin Franklin Elementary employees and parents are valid signatures on the petition since they all make use of the Glendale Rancho neighborhood and are within 500 feet of the proposed construction site. Even students may sign, with parental permission, since they too share a very important interest in the proper handling of toxins and ground contamination.
IMPORTANT: One does NOT have to live in Glendale to sign the petition if they make use of the Rancho neighborhood school. We have confirmed this with the city’s project planner, Dennis Joe.
I’m seriously so disappointed about the decision to proceed. Why didn’t more people sign? Now I wish I had at least had my children sign as they are directly affected attending Franklin. And the other motels owned by the developer are complete dumps. I foresee major traffic problems. It’s hard enough already navigating these narrow streets with young children in tow. Glendale city officials seem only to want to line their pockets.
Perhaps they didn’t know. Getting the issue into public awareness is harder than it seems. It takes a well organized effort which we simply didn’t have despite having some amazing support.
An appeal of the decision is possible (within 15 days of the DRB meeting). However, I don’t see enough public interest in it, and it’s unlikely we could even crowd-fund the appeal fee ($2,000.00). Not to mention additional expenses such as signs, printed materials, and an attorney.
Regarding your children signing the petition, at one point we had considered a petition exclusively ‘by children for children’ to sign (with parent approval). We simply didn’t have the time or people-power to implement it. It’s unlikely much was lost for that. The petition didn’t seem to be of great consideration to the DRB. They looked at it but gave no feedback about it.
As for the other motels, they are not the Applicant’s. Rather they belong to a member of the development team. The two most local of them operate under the “Capri” brand name. They have unsavory reputations online and off. It’s our hope that the Capri owner will either run an establishment that earns a cleaner reputation. Or, that the rest of his development team will keep him on a leash to prevent mismanagement.
Hopefully this blog will never have to feature pictures of Glendale Police Department responding to calls at the hotel. But if we see that the hotel brings an unwelcome element to the Rancho (such as drugs or prostitution) we’ll report it. First to police and then on this blog.
Remember, though it’s too late to stop the project or have the DRB make major alterations, it’s still not too late to become interested and active regarding this development. The Applicant has many obstacles to overcome still. It’s up to the local citizen to make sure that the city holds him to his responsibilities without cutting corners. For example, if people have environmental concerns, they can address those questions to the city planner, or even contact an independent environmental activist group for assistance or guidance. If someone is concerned about the feral cats allowed to breed by the scores on the neglected lot, they can contact Pasadena Humane Society, the Glendale Neighborhood Services Department, and/or an animal rights group. Likewise, to report the condition of the neglected lot, one should contact Glendale Neighborhood Services.
The city is not our advocate, so participation is key. If we do not, agencies like Glendale’s Community Development Department will continue to act like Glendale’s Department of Community Detachment.
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