Planning officials had recommended approval, but board members agreed with the more than 100 opponents of the project, finding that it clashed with the neighborhood’s tucked-away character, and would likely impact the environment.
“I do think that a parking lot potentially has detrimental impacts on the neighborhood,” Planning Board member Vahe Hovanessian said. “And however we try to hide it, it’s ultimately going to be what it is, which is a parking lot.”
The applicant can appeal the decision to the City Council, but had yet to do so as of Tuesday, planning officials said.
Former Mayor Bob Bowne, representing the country club, characterized the project as modest and pointed to hedges and other vegetation in the plans to screen noise, dust and light from neighboring homes.
“There’s virtually no way anybody driving . . . on Rose Street or Lakeside Drive will ever know that there’s any kind of parking inside the private property,” Bowne said.
While he conceded that those living on Hood Avenue in some cases would not be spared of increased activity, Bowne said the country club has agreed to more than two dozen conditions to address neighborhood concerns.
Open between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. and on special events, the parking lot would be dedicated to valet parking and employees, and measures would be taken to reduce car-alarm noise and spillover lighting, Brown said.
The club also agreed to construct a 6-foot-tall wall to screen the lot from Hood Avenue and limit construction to weekdays between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. To protect wildlife, shrubs holding bird’s nests would be flagged and avoided, Brown said.
“We realize that some of these matters are sensitive to the neighbors, and we want to be good neighbors,” Bowne said.
But Rob Glushon, the attorney representing neighbors, argued for a full environmental review, and raised concerns about noise, dust, pollution, declining property values and the effect on wildlife in the area.
“In my mind, there’s been a wholesale and fundamental failure of the applicant to demonstrate any facts, any substantial evidence, to support all of the required legal findings,” he said.
Opened 86 years ago, the golf club at 4500 Lakeside Drive straddles Los Angeles and Burbank. On Monday, the Burbank-Toluca Lake Residents Coalition to Protect R1 Zoning came out in droves, some quoting song lyrics and old newspaper clippings describing previous neighborhood victories.
Dean Kay criticized the proposal as yet another potential incursion on the quiet neighborhood.
“It appears that their true intent is to dump their junk in Burbank, and more specifically, in my front yard,” Kay said.
