Pasadena Star-News (Pasadena, CA)
August 10, 2005 Wednesday

Condo project enrages neighbors

by Gene Maddaus, Staff Writer

PASADENA

Neighbors have been annoyed by the abandoned gas station at Allen
Avenue and Brigden Road for a long time. On a pleasant street where
Armenian bakeries and unassuming mom ‘n’ pop outfits sit
cheek-by-jowl with charming bungalows, the old gas station with its
peeling paint and imposing fence is an eyesore.

Now, a developer has decided to tear it down and put up something
new.

And that’s where the real problem begins.

Ara Tchaghlassian’s plan to build a three-story condominium complex
on the site has triggered neighborhood outrage and a 45-day citywide
moratorium on similar developments, which was approved unanimously by
the City Council late Monday night.

The project, neighbors say, is simply too big. From San Marino to
Altadena, nothing else on Allen Avenue is three stories tall. Next to
the low-slung bakeries and the single-story bungalows, it will look
hulking, towering a monster.

“This is a dreadful project for the neighborhood,’ said Councilman
Paul Little.

The moratorium will not affect Tchaghlassian’s project he already has
a building permit. Assuming, as seems likely, that the moratorium
will not be renewed in 45 days, it will not affect anything, said
Planning Director Richard Bruckner.

“It doesn’t look like there are any projects currently that are teed
up for entitlements that would be impacted by this moratorium,’ he
said.

Turning its focus back on Tchaghlassian, the City Council went so far
Monday night as to consider the extremely unusual and quite possibly
illegal move of revoking his building permit.

Little, who represents the neighborhood, even suggested in jest, he
says that the city refuse to provide power and sewer hook-ups to the
project once it’s completed.

“That may be leverage to get him to be more friendly with the
neighborhood,’ Little said. “That’s an extreme.’

Tchaghlassian pointed out that his project complies fully with the
zoning of the lot. He sought no variances.

The parcel has carried these automatic entitlements for decades,
Bruckner said. It is only recently, with skyrocketing land values,
that developers have been able to take advantage of them. There are
several more parcels in the same neighborhood that could be similarly
developed, if the owners had a mind to do it.

The moratorium is designed to give the city’s planners “breathing
room’ to draft new zoning rules to prevent further projects that are
out of scale with their neighborhoods.

As for Tchaghlassian, the City Council decided to meet privately with
him next week to attempt to resolve the issue. The city could either
pay Tchaghlassian not to build the third story or purchase the land,
among other options.

“Ara said he had some compromises in mind, like having the city buy
the property outright,’ said Liane Enkelis, of the Brigden Ranch
Neighborhood Association, which has protested the development the
loudest. “All of these compromises would not be made without a
monetary benefit to Ara.’

Enkelis has suggested that the city buy the land and turn it into a
pocket park.

“Older Armenian gentlemen could sit and sip coffee and play checkers,
while younger moms could stroll with their kids,’ she said.

It would be an unusual outcome.

“The circumstances surrounding this whole thing are unusual. There’s
nothing normal about this,’ said Councilman Chris Holden. “We’re
grappling with the right way to respond.’