Mayor's Roundtable: Building a Built-Out City

Glendora Mayor Doug Tessitor fields your community questions and answers them in a weekly column. In Glendora Patch’s Mayor’s Roundtable, you are invited in an ongoing dialogue about issues and concerns you have regarding your city. Share your ideas and voice your opinion.

Have a question you'd like Mayor Tessitor to answer? E-mail hazel.lodevicotoo@patch.com

This week's reader-submitted question:

Last week, you wrote about how we develop and maintain our city's character over time. So I want to know, what developments can we expect now? What specific changes or improvements can we expect to see in the near future? I'm seeing some street improvements, which is good. What else? New businesses? New facilities? Thank you."

To preface the answer to this question, I have to point out that we are not painting on a blank canvas. The City of Glendora is built out. Any future projects will be infill and will be subject to existing zoning requirements, land availability, developer interest and economic conditions, among other considerations.

Over the last decade, the City has established a General Plan for the entire community, and several Specific Plans for distinct areas of the city. These plans guide the direction, intensity and nature of development. Each of the plans, General and Specific, were developed with input from the community as a whole. Citizen comments and concerns were incorporated into the final plans as approved.

The Specific Plan areas include:

• Glendora Marketplace  (passed by Glendora voters in a Municipal Election)
• Diamond Ridge Expansion (adjacent to the Glendora Marketplace)
• Monrovia Nursery
• Town Center Mixed Use
• Route 66 – Barranca to Amelia
• Foothill Boulevard – west of Grand Ave to Valencia Ave, North to the Gold line Tracks and South to Little Dalton Wash

The largest project envisioned for the future is the Monrovia Nursery Development. This property was purchased by City Ventures, LLC from the Monrovia Nursery at the end of last year. They currently have submitted a grading plan to the City, which must be approved before any construction can begin. Ultimately, this will result in 100+ new homes on half-acre lots.

City Ventures also owns the property near the post office, north of the Gold Line Tracks. They have submitted plans for a proposed transit-oriented residential project. This plan contemplates about 75 condominium units.

In the same area (northeast corner of Glendora Ave and Route 66) there is a several acre site that will ultimately be developed as a transit-oriented residential project. The city had approved plans several years ago for a 176-unit, mixed use property, but those entitlements have expired and that project will not be built. The property has been sold, and the new owner has not submitted a new proposal to the planning department yet.

Olson Company is currently in the early stages of determining the feasibility of developing about 80-owner occupied residences on the land formerly occupied by Rain-Bird and Naked Juice and several smaller parcels North of Foothill Boulevard. They need to complete land acquisition negotiations with the current property owners before proceeding. The City will not allow piecemeal development of this area.

On the eastern end of Glendora we have just welcomed a new corporate resident, LoopNet. This web based real estate company occupies 37,000 square feet on the second floor of the American Christian Credit Union building on Route 66. They are bringing 140 new, daytime jobs to Glendora.

Last year the City’s Redevelopment Agency closed escrow on the long vacant, former auto parts store on the corner of Amelia and Route 66.  This facility is being refurbished by the new tenants and will soon reopen as an indoor, baseball training facility.

The agency would like to acquire the remainder of this of this old (dare we say blighted?) corner to provide the basis for a modern and attractive commercial addition to the city.

There are other, less significant, future projects, but space does not permit detailing each of them.  I hope the examples I have discussed have given an idea of how development is proceeding in Glendora.

As I mentioned in my last article, each of us can impact the character and development of the city by becoming involved.  If you haven’t availed yourself of the opportunities to provide your opinion to community decisions in the past, it’s not too late!  Become informed, become involved, be a part of the solutions and we will remain the Pride of the Foothills!

The views and opinions expressed in these articles are those of Doug Tessitor alone.  They are not to be construed to represent official positions of the city or the opinions of any other council member.