Planning hearing reviews 8‑story, 682‑unit Central Avenue density‑bonus plan; developer seeks multiple waivers

The Planning Hearing Officer heard a staff presentation and public testimony on Sept. 24 for a density‑bonus housing plan covering two downtown parcels in the Orange Central area of Glendale — the mixed‑use former Sears site and an adjacent parcel under separate consideration for a potential public park.

Case planner Joseph (Joe) (case planner, Glendale Planning Division) described the proposed project as an eight‑story mixed‑use building with roughly 682 residential units and approximately 655,000 square feet of building area. The density‑bonus proposal reserves 72 units at very low and low income levels and requests two concessions and four waivers under Glendale’s Development Standards and Procedures (DSP) and state density‑bonus law. The concessions include a proposed deviation from the municipal proportionality requirement for inclusionary unit bedroom mixes (the applicant proposes a larger share of studios and one‑bedrooms than the municipal proportionality rule would require) and an increase in allowable floor‑area…