Design review board approves revised 2‑story house at 589 Arch Place with conditions after neighbors cite fire‑access and parking concerns

The Glendale Design Review Board on Aug. 28 approved a revised design for a two‑story single‑family house at 589 Arch Place (case PDR003227‑2024), conditioned on updated landscaping/tree permits and minor design changes. Neighbors had urged the board to consider emergency access, parking and wildfire risk on the narrow, steep cul‑de‑sac; the board and applicant discussed driveway geometry and sidewalk/driveway apron details before voting.

Eileen Babakani, the project case planner, summarized the redesign: the project proposes a new 3,149‑square‑foot, two‑story house with an attached two‑car garage on a 13,053‑square‑foot steep lot with an average slope of about 74 percent. The submission reduced the earlier footprint by removing a ground‑level cantilever and reconfigured the garage/driveway to create more usable temporary parking on the approach; staff reported the house would have a maximum height of 33 feet, 11 inches and that about 76 percent of the site would remain ungraded open space. Babakani said the project had previously received variances in March 2024 to reduce the required street‑front setback from 15 feet to 5 feet and to shorten the…