Glendale board approves hillside home at 1300 Hillside Drive with tree‑protection conditions

The Glendale Design Review Board approved design review case PDR000039642024 on May 14, voting to permit a new two‑story single‑family home at 1300 Hillside Drive conditioned on staff recommendations that include a revised stucco color and a tree protection plan.

Staff presented the project as a 11,783‑square‑foot vacant lot in the Verdugo Woodlands neighborhood with a steep slope and seven coast live oak trees to be retained. Staff recommended approval with conditions including a more natural stucco tone, showing all exterior lighting at plan check, and adhering to urban forestry requirements such as a tree protection plan and use of an indigenous‑tree specialist.

"Staff recommends approval of the project with conditions," said Nick Clott, a DRB staff liaison, during the presentation. He described the design as tucked into the hillside with the majority of the site maintained as ungraded open space.

Project architect Hamlet Zorabian told the board a draft soils/geotechnical report found native soil over quartz‑diorite bedrock and described no visual evidence of historic or current surficial slope failures or rockfall hazards. "No geological evidence of current or historic sufficient surficial slope failures, slumping or mud flow was observed," Zorabian said, adding that the project’s proposed drainage and grading are intended to control runoff and reduce instability.

A caller, Mary Lacroy, urged the board to protect the oaks and cited the city's indigenous‑tree provisions and the hillside design guidelines. "Drip lines are to be protected and not built over," she said, expressing concern about prior tree losses on the slope and asking whether the site might qualify as a transitional slope that would prohibit construction.

Zorabian replied that the project has been reviewed by city departments and that an arborist report and urban forestry review concluded the work is feasible with standard protections: no trenching within drip lines, monitored excavations, and limits on root pruning. He said the design aims to avoid removal of any of the seven oak trees.

During deliberation, board members praised the design for minimizing grading and fitting into the hillside. Several members reiterated that a tree protection plan and on‑site arborist monitoring will be required as part of building permits and that drainage will be addressed during permit review.

A motion to approve the project with staff conditions was moved and seconded. The board voted to approve the project 4‑0; Commissioner Costcanian was recorded absent. The chair announced a 15‑day appeal period for the decision.

The decision requires the applicant to comply with the conditions noted by staff and to submit a tree protection plan and final plans showing exterior lighting and other details during plan check. The DRB meeting was then adjourned.