Glendale residents rally against proposal for Aloft Hotel

It’s westward ho for Starwood Hotels’ Aloft brand, which recently opened its first L.A. outpost in El Segundo and has another planned for Glendale.

But apparently some Glendale residents are not too keen on the project proposed for the site at 1100 North Brand Boulevard, which Glendale’s Design review board will consider next Thursday.

The six-story boutique hotel would have 85 rooms and its own restaurant. Some community members have been vocal about their opposition to the 82-foot-tall building because of its size and the potential noise impact of construction. While it’s located in a commercial area, the hotel would still be in proximity to residential homes in the suburban area.

A staff report prepared for the Design Review Board concluded that the structure outlined in its proposal is too big but would not bring about noise impact. The report also offered ways to decrease its size.

According to the L.A. Times, residents have sent almost 40 emails to the city voicing resistance to the hotel and the Design Review Board’s conclusions.

“The residents of Glendale have been repeatedly assured that the Downtown Specific Plan would locate these types of developments in the downtown area and would keep them out of our residential neighborhood,” one resident, Sean Bersell, wrote. “The large hotel that would be erected by this project is out-of-scale and not suitable for the neighborhood and would violate the commitment the city made to us.”

Many of the residents who wrote to the city are demanding an independent impact report.

Vilia Zemaititis, a planner with the city, told the Times that further review isn’t necessary.

“All the impacts related to noise, traffic, air quality, greenhouse gas and historical and cultural resources were less than significant,” she said in a phone interview. [LAT] — Cathaleen Chen