Glendale planning hearing officer takes Incarnation Parish expansion under submission

Incarnation Parish presented a conditional use permit application June 25 asking the Planning Hearing Officer to allow a master-plan expansion of its 4.46-acre campus at 1001 North Brand Boulevard, including a new roughly 7,000-square-foot parish center, modest additions to existing buildings, and reconfiguration of parking and site landscaping.

The proposal would demolish a 1,560-square-foot detached garage and a small dwelling unit associated with the rectory, construct a two-story parish center with a 1,400-square-foot covered arcade, add roughly 600 square feet to the rectory (net gain about 500 square feet after a 100-square-foot demolition), and make a 108-square-foot addition to the parish office. The plan would reduce on-site parking from 208 spaces to 180 spaces (138 in the west lot, 42 in the east) and remodel the east lot for landscape, lighting and reconfigured drive aisles.

The application, filed as conditional use permit PCUP0041232024, was described in staff presentation by Alan Lambert, case planner, who said the project ‘‘qualifies as a class 1 existing facilities’’ for minor additions and ‘‘class 3 new construction’’ for the parish center and that a state transit-oriented parking exception (identified in the hearing as ‘‘AB 20 97’’) supports the proposed reduced parking relative to the zoning calculation, which otherwise requires 375 spaces.

Why it matters: the campus houses both a place of worship and a private school that staff and the applicant said have operated at the site for decades. The parish says the master plan will preserve historic character, provide additional community gathering space, improve landscaping, and modernize utilities and accessibility while keeping school enrollment stable.

Details of the proposal and staff findings

Alan Lambert summarized the plan and the staff report’s findings, saying staff concluded the four required findings for a conditional use permit were met: consistency with the general plan’s community-serving uses, no anticipated detriment to public health or the environment, compatibility with surrounding land uses, and adequacy of existing utilities and services. Lambert also noted that exterior improvements will undergo design review at a later stage.

Applicant presentations and operations

Father Rodel Balactus, pastor of Incarnation Church, said the parish began its master-planning work in February 2023 with Pica Sullivan Architects as the parish prepares for its centennial in 2027. Architect Joe Pica said the design aims to ‘‘look like we grew there’’ and emphasized landscape upgrades, additional accessible and EV-ready parking, and new restrooms and shade structures.

Rodney Khan, representing the applicant, provided operational details: the school enrolls about 500 students (roughly 30 in preschool and up to 470 in TK–8), has 35 faculty and 17 classrooms, and offers before- and after-school care. Khan said weekday school hours run roughly 8 a.m.–3 p.m. with before- and after-school care from 7 a.m. and until 6 p.m.; church services include weekday and multiple weekend masses with average weekend attendance around 250 people. Khan told the hearing ‘‘we’re not looking at increasing the... students’’ and said the master plan does not propose an enrollment increase.

Traffic, parking and trip assumptions

Traffic consultant Jana Baghdini of JB Associates said staff’s mobility division requested a vehicle-miles-traveled (VMT) analysis and that the analysis used the Institute of Transportation Engineers’ (ITE) church land-use category, which the consultant said includes assembly and related uses. Baghdini said the analysis estimated about 56 daily trips attributable to the proposed parish center and that, under the assumptions used, the project would not generate new traffic impacts.

Community activities and conditions

Applicant representatives listed campus activities that currently take place and asked that conditions reflect existing uses. The applicant clarified that the campus hosts an annual Father’s Day weekend carnival — described by parish manager Michael Morgan as a community-building fundraiser that operates in evening hours with security and a latest closing time of about 10:30 p.m. — and many after-hours meetings, weddings and funeral receptions that already occur on-site.

During rebuttal and clarifying discussion, applicant representatives asked the hearing officer to reconsider a proposed 10-year expiration on the authorization (condition 30) and sought clarification on conditions limiting ‘‘after-hour use’’ (condition 15) and restrictions on renting or leasing facilities for purposes not specified (condition 18). The hearing officer recorded those requests and noted staff review and a written decision would follow.

Hearing status and next steps

The hearing officer closed the public hearing at 10:23 a.m. June 25 and took the case under submission; no formal approval or denial was made at the meeting. The officer said a written decision will be prepared and mailed to the applicant and all parties who provided notice information; the decision date will appear on that letter. The officer also reminded listeners of appeal rights under Glendale Municipal Code, Title 30, Chapter 30.62 — appeals to the Planning Commission must be filed within 15 days of the decision using the city’s online permit portal.

No formal vote or decision was recorded at the hearing.