City of Glendale
Rumor Page
"Welcome to Glendale" Sign
on Foothill Blvd.
*On November 17, 2018, the "Welcome to Glendale" sign on Foothill Blvd. was hit by a suspected impaired driver. The City of Glendale's legal team will be seeking to recover the cost of the damages caused by this driver.
x The Glendale City Council voted to place the Foothill Entry signs without any discussion or community input. The entry sign’s positioning and visibility in the center medians are a safety hazard and were the cause of a recent collision.
✔ In November 2011, the Glendale City Council adopted the North Glendale Community Plan (NGCP) after many months of visioning workshops, open houses, and community meetings that included just about every City Department, and a 32-member Advisory Committee. Part of this plan called for streetscape, landscape and intersection improvements. Enhancements within the right-of-way including limited, raised landscape center medians at entry points to Glendale (Pennsylvania Avenue and Lowell Avenue on Foothill Boulevard) were incorporated into the plan (page 48, Chapter 4.2a.2, Section A.1(d)), and partially installed as part of the recent Public Works ADA Curb Ramp and Sidewalk Installation Project. A creative brief with design specifications of the sign was widely publicized as a “Call for Artists” press release, and was published in various news publications including the Glendale News Press, CV Weekly (Link to additional news story), and the Crescenta Valley Chamber Newsletter. The “Call for Artists” was also publicized via the City’s media platforms, and letters were sent to high schools in North Glendale.
x The Foothill Entry Signs cost $2.2 million (according to social media postings)
✔ The actual monument cost is $84,000. Any costs associated with the replacement sign and new contractor was covered by their respective insurance carriers.
See the misinformation that was posted on a social media platform below:
“No meetings nor any kind of resistance will be tolerated by the high and mighty chosen city council they obviously have blown the 2.2 million for this $2 project and have zero intention of changing it those signs are pathetic out of scale and just plain cheap looking like a lego sculpture or similar why can we not have a damm island with landscape like every other city for 2.2 mil ??”
See below for additional information for how the sign came about:
Below is a timeline highlighting the steps taken towards making the improvements:
January 2015: Met with members of Friends of North Glendale after they reached out asking to move forward with improvements mentioned in the NGCP.
February 2015: Members updated CV Town Council (County) regarding the meeting. Discussions revolved around the fact that full medians would not be acceptable due to driveways and deliveries up and down Foothill. Met with committee, and suggested pole sign and showed samples. The committee wanted more of a monument sign.
March 2015: Members of group met at Crescenta Valley Chamber of Commerce office to discuss project.
April 2015: Met to identify process – design contest open only to North Glendale artists. Call for artist/press release published in Glendale Newspress, CV Weekly, Crescenta Valley Chamber Newsletter, and various news publications. Letters were sent to high schools in North Glendale.
June 2015: Submissions due for pole sign, few received. Friends of North Glendale (FNG) requested submission be extended through the fall of 2015 (November), and asked for a monument sign instead of a pole sign. Staff met with Public Works Engineers regarding monument sign. Engineers suggested a small median at back of turn lane that would accommodate monument. North Glendale resident committee members wanted the monument sign in the median, due November 1.
October 2015: CV Weekly Jason Kurosu contacted FNG to do a story.
May 2016: A winning design and local artist was selected and announced.
In December of 2017, a driver struck the monument at the Lowell Avenue entry to the City, and severely damaged the precast concrete piece. The driver of the Toyota Prius claimed that he fell asleep at 4:00 a.m. in the morning and fled, leaving his car atop the monument. The driver, a Los Angeles resident, is currently under investigation for a hit and run, and will bear the costs of the damage.
At the time of the accident, some of the installation work around the monuments including up-lights, striping, solar panel, and power lines were still in progress and had not been completed. The contractor hired for the project was not able to fully complete the project and was issued a notice of default and removed from the project in November. Currently, the Public Works Department is in the process of hiring a new contractor and ordering replacements from the manufacturer to complete the remainder of the installation and site work.
* Update February 28, 2018: The City of Glendale Public Works Department has hired a new contractor to complete the construction of the monument sign as designed. The complete design includes solar panels, lighting, brick, river rock, striping, reflectiorization, and signage.
The City continues to take input from its community members.
If you would like future updates, please provide us with your e-mail address.
On December 11, 1951 the Crescenta Highlands became a part of the city of Glendale by a vote of the residents in the area. Proponents of the annexation argued the tax rate of Glendale was 13 cents less per 100.00 of land value than the county of Los Angeles. They also argued that Glendale offered a high level of Police and Fire Services. And finally with water and power, the services were efficient and inexpensive (Glendale Area History. James Anderson, 1974. Print).
For more history on Glendale neighborhoods, click here.