OUTDOOR GRILLS ARE CHOKING
By Jason Wells

Glendale News Press, CA
July 27 2007

Restaurants looking to deliver open-air, mesquite-flavored dishes
take another hit from the city.

GLENDALE – Outdoor grilling at restaurants, a contentious issue in
Glendale, lost another battle Wednesday when an Armenian eatery’s
application to continue its smoky cooking method was denied.

Sam Arutyunyan submitted an application June 6 seeking a variance
to maintain an outdoor grill at his Karoun Restaurant in southeast
Glendale. In her denial issued on Wednesday, City Zoning Administrator
Edith Fuentes pointed to a city code that requires all commercial
grilling to be indoors.

Arutyunyan can appeal the ruling to the Zoning Board of Appeals. He
could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Banquet hall and restaurant owners have argued that their clientele’s
palates demand mesquite-flavored charcoal, and that moving outdoor
grilling operations into a specially constructed, enclosed room would
not be cost-effective.

The ruling comes less than a year after the City Council failed
to muster the four votes needed to lift the ban and allow outdoor
grilling under certain conditions.

At the time, the council’s only two non-Armenian members – Frank
Quintero and Dave Weaver – voted against it, prompting some residents
to call it a racial issue.

Weaver said his vote was about health issues and enforcing city code,
not race.

On Thursday, his opinion had not changed, but those of some of the
proponents for the original proposition had.

Mayor Ara Najarian had favored the ordinance change in 2006, citing
the need to stoke authentic Armenian cuisine in a city many Armenian
Americans call home.

But since the ordinance change was defeated – and the city’s
Neighborhood Services Department has stepped up enforcement of the
current ban – Najarian said he’s become more inclined to let the
issue fizzle out.

"At this point, I’d encourage restaurant and banquet hall owners to
bring their cooking indoors," he said. "In terms of energy and effort,
that’s perhaps the best direction to exert our effort, rather than
change an ordinance."

Any chance that the different makeup of the council this year may
give commercial outdoor grillers renewed hope is slim.

Councilman John Drayman, who replaced Rafi Manoukian on the council,
said he probably wouldn’t support a similar proposal.

"The issue is pretty much settled by now," he said.

Community activist Margaret Hammond, who has long beat the drum
against outdoor grilling, was relieved by the recent denial.

"I’m hoping this will send a message," she said. "The city is going
to enforce the ordinance."

Since it became apparent the council would not alter the ordinance,
the city has steadily whittled down the number of banquet halls and
restaurants that grill outdoors from about 12 to two, said Sam Engel,
director of Neighborhood Services Department.

MGM Hall on South Kenwood Street recently filed its intent with
Engel’s department to cease outdoor grilling after it received notice
of prosecution from the City Attorney’s Office, he said.

The last remaining violators, Engel said, are Verdugo Hills Country
Club and Karoun Restaurant, which will now see stepped-up code
enforcement.

Code violations for the country club are under review, according to
the City Attorney’s Office.