MOTION
Moved by Council Member _____________________________, seconded by Council Member _________________________, that upon review and consideration of all documents, materials and exhibits relative to Stage II Design Review Application (Design Review Case No. PDR 2212056), located at: 236 N. Central Avenue, 201 W.
California Avenue and 212 W. California Avenue (the “Design Review Case”), and after having conducted a public hearing on January 27, 2026, pursuant to the Glendale Municipal Code, 1995, and after having reviewed the materials, and receiving testimony, the Council of the City of Glendale, California, based upon all of the evidence in the record, hereby APPROVES the Design Review Case based on the following findings, as well as all of the findings and conclusions set forth in the January 27, 2026, Report to Council from the Director of Community Development, including any attachments thereto (“Report”), which are hereby incorporated, and subject to the following findings and conditions of approval:
FINDINGS
In approving the Design Review Case, the Council hereby makes the following findings and incorporates all of the findings set forth in the Report:
Site Planning
The proposed site planning is appropriate, as modified by any proposed conditions, to the site and its surroundings for the following reasons:
The Project site is broken into two sites: a 3.7-acre Mixed-Use Building Site (236 North Central Avenue and 212 W. California Avenue) and a 0.87-acre Potential Public Park Site (201 West California Avenue). The Mixed-Use Building Site is located west of Central Avenue, south of California Avenue and east of Orange Street and is 3.7 acres, while Potential Public Park Site is 0.87 acre in area and is located on the north of California on the northwest corner of Orange Street. The Project’s scope of work on the Mixed-Use Site and designed features two separate buildings that are connected by the ground-level parking area and second-floor common open space areas. The ground floor features a combination of live/work units, 1- and 2-bedroom residential units, and a 1,515 square foot retail space as well as amenity areas (e.g., lobby, business lounge, etc.). The project complies with the building setback requirements of the DSP, which requires a minimum 18-foot setback from Central Avenue, a 16-foot setback from California Avenue, and a minimum 10-foot setback for the building along Orange Street. Required minimum setbacks for the DSP are measured on the ground floor from the face of the curb to the building frontage. Complying with these setbacks will allow for parkway and sidewalk widening that will activate the pedestrian realm, another goal of the DSP. Vehicular access to the site is proposed from two new driveway entrances, located mid-block on California Avenue and at the southerly portion of the site along Orange Street. All publicly accessible open space is 100% open to the sky, oriented towards and accessed from public streets, and appropriately integrated within the Project’s site planning. At the ground floor, courtyard/plazas are incorporated into the site planning, with the building entries appropriately setback from the street. At the southerly portion of the site, a new public paseo has been designed that provides mid-block pedestrian access from Orange Street to Central Avenue.
Building Design
The Project design incorporates the required height and façade modulations into the design, including at the street-level. Along each street frontage, the height modulations range from 12’-1” to 33’-9” at the upper floors. The design also incorporates step backs at the upper floors that range from 6’-5” to 48’-0”, as well as the major and minor façade modulations, and required building separations. Combined with detailing, articulation, and window patterns these height and façade modulations and the building separations provide visual interest at the pedestrian level and reduces the imposing appearance of the building’s mass over the public right-of-way. The Project is a contemporary design and utilizes architectural solutions (building materials, texture, offset building massing, recessed entries, windows, canopies, and public open space) to articulate the street- facing façades. Overall, the design addresses the public sidewalk, with the design of the street-level facades appropriately detailed with human-scaled high-quality materials.
The building design uses materials to differentiate between the different volumes, which combined with the façade modulations and building separations, gives the impression of multiple buildings on the 3.7-acre Project site.
Open Space
The Project’s includes a 2,118 SF and 1,313 SF courtyard/plaza at the corners of California Avenue/Orange Street and Central Avenue/California Avenue, respectively.
The plazas comply with the DSP requirements that include:
Open to the sky;
Fully accessible on one or two sides;
Located at the sidewalk level;
Include large canopy trees (1 tree per 600 SF minimum); Provide landscaping primarily at grade (minimum 25% of open space with maximum 25% in raised planters);
Feature pedestrian scaled lighting, signage and wayfinding, seating, waste receptacles, etc.
The paseo complies with the minimum 20-foot width required in the DSP, as well as the accessibility and material requirements. The intimate scale of paseos provides pedestrians with safety from vehicular traffic/noise on the street. The landscape plans include landscaping, concrete walkways, and amenities that include outdoor seating, storefront/stoops for the ground floor apartment and live/work units fronting the paseo.
The Project will comply with the DSP requirements that includes:
Open to the sky;
A width of 20 feet to 30 feet;
Connects to a public street to another public street or alley; Located at the same elevation as the adjacent sidewalk; A special feature such as public art, a water feature, or specimen tree; Storefronts, stoops, or unit entries lining the edges; Façades with human-scaled materials;
Large canopy trees;
Landscaping primarily at grade;
Pedestrian-Scaled lighting, signage and wayfinding;
Street furnishings: seating, waste receptacles, etc.;
Restricted vehicle access.
NO NET LOSS:
As set forth in the Report, the Project provides a total of 72 lower income (67 very low and 5 low-income) and 610 above moderate units. For purposes of the Housing Element’s site capacity and the requirement to maintain sufficient adequate site capacity to accommodate the remaining Regional Housing Need Allocation (RHNA) by income category, the Project results in a net decrease, Citywide, in lower income and moderate-income unit capacity and a net increase in above moderate-income and total unit capacity (net decrease of 371 lower income units and 75 moderate income units and a net increase of 535 above moderate-income units). The Project also results in a net increase of 89 total units. If the approval of a development at a lower residential density results in the remaining sites capacity becoming inadequate to accommodate the RHNA by income category, a jurisdiction has up 180 days from the approval to identify, or rezone, “sufficient additional, adequate, and available sites” to accommodate the remaining RHNA for each income category. As such, the City will identify – within 180 days - sufficient additional, adequate, and available sites with an equal or greater residential density and additional adequate sites to accommodate the City’s share of RHNA by income level.
STAFF RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS:
1. That the color for vinyl windows throughout the building should avoid the color white and match the color scheme shown in the elevations and rendered perspectives, such as silver, espresso, or brown. As a consideration, in lieu of vinyl material, a higher-quality and durable material, such as fiberglass, should be considered.
2. That the Project provide a designated drop-off zone for ride share, loading for new residents, and/or loading area for delivery packages within proximity of residential mailboxes.
3. That the paseo should incorporate connections with the connected streets (Orange Street and North Central) such as kiosks, game area (e.g. chess), and congregation areas to incentives outdoor activities (e.g. City sponsored concerts) to create opportunities that revitalize the DSP. The addition of a restaurant with an outdoor patio that adjoins the paseo to enhance activation and further revitalization goals.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
1. That the developer shall comply with Public Resources Code section 21080.66(d)(2) which provides that certain labor standards “apply to buildings over 85’ in height above grade”.
2. That the developer shall comply with Glendale Municipal Code Chapter 4.10 (Public Use Facilities Development Impact Fees) through the payment of Development Impact Fees (DIFs) prior to issuance of a certificate of occupancy for the Project; or the dedication of land as a condition of approval of final tract map for residential subdivision pursuant to the Quimby Act; or the developer could seek to donate the Sears automotive site for a park purposes and request a credit of the land value against the DIFs owed.
Vote as follows:
Ayes:
Noes:
Absent:
Abstain: