EPICALLY WILD DRB HEARING SUMMARY & APPEAL DEADLINE ON 9/11 (by 5PM)

9/05 UPDATE: 
DRB VOTING METHOD CALLED INTO QUESTION AT CITY COUNCIL MEETING

At the 9/01/26 City Council meeting, a very observant caller, Northwest Glendale HOA Rep.  Allan Durham, raised a serious concern that the voting at the 8/27/26 car wash DRB hearing appeared to have been conducted in a manner that violated the Brown Act, amid the ongoing confusion during that meeting’s voting process.  The motion that was voted on was never shown to the public and was never read into the public record.  It was merely waved in the air on a sheet of paper.  Durham stated that neither the DRB motion nor the vote appeared to be legal under the Brown Act.  He said he has never seen the City Council, a board, or commission make and vote on a motion that was simply presented on a piece of paper that was never read into the public record and was never made available for the public to see.  He said this was not fair to the appellants or to the public in general.  He is requesting that the City Attorney and his staff review the recording and respond to its compliance with the Brown Act.  As Durham put it, you can't have a valid motion simply by waving a piece of paper with printing on it in the air and then taking a vote. 

Check out the City Council Meeting video at the following two timecodes: 

Allan Durham's Call: 4:54:57

Board’s Reaction: 5:08:38  

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8/31 UPDATE:

DRB HEARING VIDEO

DECISION LETTER & APPEAL INSTRUCTIONS

HEARING RESULT:  CAR WASH IS APPROVED WITH CONDITIONS.  APPEAL DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 11 (by 5PM). 

It was a completely packed house at the DRB meeting, with more passion than perhaps any other meeting in recent memory.  Nothing about this wild, four-hour hearing was ordinary.

Some of the biggest heavy hitters in the surrounding area showed up and spoke out vehemently against the huge industrial car wash.  From the longtime property owner of all three houses next door along Burchett, to the Mobil gas station owner across the street.  His upcoming tiny car wash in progress was incorrectly omitted from the approval letter, and should have been factored into that and the traffic study.

We even heard from heavy hitters such as John Koerner, owner of the nearby Management Emporium.  His longtime property management company manages 3,000 homes throughout the surrounding area.  He demanded once and for all that the City listen to the community by voting down the car wash.  He also called for the City to (break the rules and) make Acapulco a historic landmark, so it can't be taken away.  John handed out signs to the front row or two reading "NO CAR WASH" and "SAVE ACAPULCO," which ended up producing one of the more entertaining moments of the night when a speaker briefly turned his allotted time into an impromptu photo op with the signs.  

We heard countless thoughtful and passionate points from upset neighbors throughout the block.  We even witnessed the most heartfelt testimonial for Acapulco from a very young child, who melted our hearts when he stated that he had been eating at Acapulco since he was born.  Longtime neighbor Jeff Cohen pointed out how there are already 14 car washes within a three mile radius.  Four-time City Council Candidate Mike Mohill asked the audience to raise their hands if they opposed the project, and a clear majority did.  Ahead of the hearing, Glendale resident Victor Simmons emailed the DRB pictures that show how the Tujunga location of this same “Bubble Up” car wash with the same owner, has been illegally storing, and possibly dumping, car wash sludge waste on the side of their building, and into the ground soil. 

Meanwhile, I attempted to cram eight minutes of critical content into a five-minute speaking slot.  LOL!  Perhaps I should have asked the moderator for clarification on my time limit after having been told many times previously that the mic would be turned off after exactly five minutes.  (1hr 7min into the YouTube video).

Yet another heavy hitter arrived in time to take the mic, with his granddaughter jumping with excitement next to him: top Glendale Historian, "Vintage Glendale" admin, and Television Executive Producer Damian Sullivan.  He touched on how some of Glendale's laws and zoning details are badly outdated, and need to be brought up to date.  He also noted that many Southern California cities—including Culver City, Whittier, Yucaipa, Hesperia and Laguna Beach—have adopted bans, moratoriums or significant restrictions on new drive-through or express car washes.

Damian has also been working tirelessly behind the scenes to help find a potential backup/new location for Acapulco in Glendale.  He and I have successfully connected Mayor Kassakhian and the City's Economic Development Department with top decision-makers at Acapulco’s parent company, and they are actively working on potential locations.  They have even identified a possible top choice, which I can’t reveal yet.  The old building is still the best option, but it’s encouraging to know that a backup plan is being explored, and I would be equally thrilled to dine regularly at either location. 

In addition to the overwhelming community opposition, the other major issue that clearly moved the needle was the housing-law provision at the center of my appeal.  The City’s approval letter relied on an exception that was apparently used incorrectly—and, critically, the word “housing” was incorrectly omitted from the approval letter.  That exception applies to housing projects, not car washes.  This point was brought to me a day or two before the hearing by a retired city planner and former longtime DRB member who still lives locally and has extensive expertise in this area.

And then something significant happened:  Two of the four DRB members said they could not approve the project because of this issue alone.  One stated:  “I’ve reviewed this law, and it appears that the appellant is correct.”  Another member agreed.  Neither voted to approve the project.  One ultimately abstained during the third round of voting.  That legal issue was therefore not merely something I raised in my appeal—it became a central issue during the actual hearing.

Meanwhile, the person others refer to as “the car wash bribe guy” publicly outed himself—even though I had never mentioned his name.  Rather than addressing the proposal, this individual spent his limited time attempting to attack me, drawing even more attention to the controversy surrounding "Team Car Wash." 

That brings us to the last portion of this epic four-hour meeting, when it got stuck for quite a while as a split vote.  On average, 80-90% of these projects are approved at the DRB hearings, 10-20% are delayed, and less than 3% are denied.  A delay was not an option in this case, so they basically needed to find a way to approve it with conditions, which they did, by separating it apart from the problematic provision of law, at least for now.  They had to do three separate rounds of voting to finally get some kind of approval with conditions that can now be appealed to the City Council.  They were advised to not leave it as a tie, as that would require repeating this hearing in another two weeks.  But truthfully, I have never witnessed this much confusion surrounding any voting process before.  The confusion itself was extraordinary. 

RESULT SUMMARY:  CAR WASH IS APPROVED WITH CONDITIONS.  APPEAL DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 11 (by 5PM). 

So we are still continuing the fight, especially as the real and final decision will happen at the upcoming City Council hearing, perhaps within the next couple months or so.  

After these four hours of passionate testimony, two DRB members refusing to approve the project over the housing-law issue, and a completely packed room making its voice heard, I have never been more proud or grateful for the people of Glendale.  Thank you to everyone who showed up, spoke, and refused to give up.  WE ARE NOT DONE YET.

DECISION LETTER & APPEAL INSTRUCTIONS

DRB HEARING VIDEO