Council sustains design approval for Sandringham house after applicant and conservancy agree on wildlife‑corridor mitigations

The Glendale City Council on Tuesday voted to sustain the Design Review Board’s approval of a proposed two‑story single‑family home at 1000 Sandringham Drive, after the applicant and the Arroyo Foothills Conservancy (AFC) reached agreement on a set of mitigation measures to preserve a wildlife corridor along the property’s north edge.

The measures that the council directed staff to incorporate into the Statement of Decision include removing or reducing retaining walls and guardrails in the corridor area, limiting exterior lighting oriented toward the adjacent open space, using only downward‑facing, low‑level fixtures and timers/motion sensors where appropriate, and installing native landscaping that does not impede wildlife movement. The parties also agreed on a 15‑foot wide wildlife corridor adjacent to the property line where fences, hedges and other barriers would be restricted.

AFC and the applicant’s architect, Alan Malekian, presented a series of coordinated design changes and drawings at the hearing. AFC’s representative, architect Hunter Knight, and Arroyo Foothills Conservancy leadership told the council they were satisfied these design changes would maintain wildlife connectivity to the neighboring Sunshine Preserve. The applicant said he accepted the conditions and will work with staff to finalize plan details.

Why it matters: The property borders city‑owned open space and a preserve where wildlife movement has been observed; neighbors and conservation groups had protested the earlier design for potential impacts to animals and corridor connectivity. The council’s action sustains DRB approval while formalizing conditions intended to protect that connectivity.

Vote and next steps: The council’s motion to sustain the DRB decision and to direct staff to incorporate the AFC‑applicant mitigation list into the conditions of approval passed on roll call: Brotman — yes; Garpetian — yes; Kasakian — yes; Najarian — yes; Mayor — yes. Staff will draft the final conditions and return the statement of decision for ministerial signature and permitting steps.

Enforcement and permanence: Council members asked how the city will ensure long‑term compliance (for example, to prevent a future owner from adding fencing or bright lighting). Staff advised that the conditions will be part of the entitlement and enforceable as conditions of approval; if the property is redeveloped in the future, those conditions would be superseded by new entitlements, but routine enforcement tools and code compliance remain available.