Council delays vote on closures

Tim Willert

GLENDALE CITY HALL -- The City Council on Tuesday delayed a decision

on the temporary closure of four residential streets, saying it didn’t

have enough information.

The temporary closures -- proposed by four Brand Boulevard auto

dealers to expand business -- would be used to further study the effects

closures would have on parking and traffic.

The council voted 4-1, with Mayor Rafi Manoukian dissenting, to table

a decision for six weeks, until more could be learned about a Brand

Boulevard median study, and to determine whether preferential parking for

residents who would be affected by the closures is feasible.

Councilman Bob Yousefian suggested that auto dealers pay for

preferential parking during the closures.

“The least you can do is provide them with a little bit of relief so

they have a place to park,” Yousefian said.

The council considered closing the streets for 60 days, despite pleas

from residents to reject the closures because of traffic and parking

concerns.

“Please do not give our city streets away to anybody. Those streets

belong to us,” resident Carol Jean Falco told the council.

The auto dealers seeking the cul-de-sac closures are Glendale Nissan,

Guy Schmidt Cadillac and Oldsmobile and Pacific BMW. A fourth dealer,

Allen Gwynn Chevrolet, withdrew its request, auto dealer spokesman

Michael Hastings told the council.

The proposed project would close 300 feet of Elk Avenue, 160 feet of

Windsor Road east of Brand and 175 feet of Windsor west of Brand.

Mayor Rafi Manoukian and Councilman Gus Gomez said the closures would

disrupt the neighborhoods by making existing traffic and parking problems

even worse.

“I’m against closing the streets,” Gomez said. “I can’t agree with the

proposal before us.”

In addition to complaints about parking and traffic, residents have

voiced concerns about dealership employees parking on their streets and

speeding.

“The Nissan dealership is out of control,” Councilman Frank Quintero

said. “It’s almost to the point of intolerance.”

But several dealer representatives, including Joe Sage of Nissan, told

the council they are committed to becoming more community friendly.

“I don’t need to tell you what the city means to us,” Sage told the

council, adding that most of the dealership’s 200 employees would park

on-site once the lots are expanded.

The closures, according to dealers, are designed to help regain lost

market share.

“Our business is hurting because we don’t have enough room,” said

Pacific BMW Vice President Nick Lam said. “We are losing money because we

don’t have the space [to store cars].”