The Glendale Historic Preservation Commission on Monday approved conditions under which city staff will legalize and permit alterations at 3030 Edgewick Road, a 1929 Tudor-Revival house that holds a Mills Act contract. Staff told the commission the property had been altered without required design review or permits and that stop-work orders were issued beginning Nov. 14, 2022. The changes included a new curving stairway and enlarged porch at a south secondary entry, infill and window changes to a 1949-era sunroom, replacement garage doors and a new driveway gate.

Staff’s report reviewed how those changes relate to Secretary of the Interior rehabilitation standards and the Mills Act conditions attached to the property’s 2019 contract. Staff recommended several conditions to preserve the building’s historic character and prevent a “false sense of history”: maintain the commission’s original Mills Act direction to return the sunroom area to its 1949 appearance (reinstating a low wood-clad wall below a wide sliding window), revise stairway railing designs to a simpler, more transparent metal picket style, simplify the new entry door panels to avoid anachronistic ornament, require wood sills and compatible stucco finishes at repaired areas, and legalize a driveway gate that matched the approved 1959 variance while ensuring a simple design.

Designer Brett Waterman told the commission that work aimed to restore the house to earlier appearance and improve safety; public commenters including Francesca Smith, an architectural historian, urged stricter adherence to rehabilitation standards and warned against creating conjectural historic details. Commissioners debated enforcement steps for owners with Mills Act contracts and the limits of the commission’s authority; staff noted the city can pursue fines, double permit fees and recommend nonrenewal of Mills Act contracts in particularly serious cases.

Following discussion, Commissioner Durham moved and Commissioner Cusack seconded staff’s recommended conditions as modified in the hearing. The commission voted unanimously (4–0; Commissioner Bartanyan absent) to approve the project with the stated conditions and to legalize elements that conform to those conditions.

Next steps: staff will work with the applicant to refine details (sill profiles, railing spacing, stucco finish) and issue permits if the revised work meets the commission’s conditions. The commission noted that remaining enforcement actions tied to unpermitted work may proceed through city channels if the owner does not complete required corrections.