Glendale is staring down a housing law buzzsaw and may be about to hit reverse on one of its most controversial development decisions of the year.
City officials are set to revisit their October vote that rejected plans to redevelop the former Sears site downtown, after state housing regulators stepped in under the Housing Accountability Act. City staff are now recommending the council rescind that denial and approve the project, leaving a tight window for Glendale to change course before potential penalties kick in. The council is scheduled to take up the motion on Tuesday.
The proposal from Trammell Crow Residential would wipe away the old Sears complex and replace it with an eight‑story, roughly 650,000‑square‑foot mixed‑use project that includes 682 rental apartments, 72 very‑low‑income units, 1,515 square feet of ground‑floor commercial space, and a 930‑space garage. The developer has also floated setting aside a portion of the wider Sears parcel at 201 California Avenue for a potential public park, according to Commercial Observer.
City staff have circulated a report urging the council to adopt a new motion that would both rescind the October denial and sign off on the project. Per the City of Glendale's public notices, the Sears redevelopment is listed on Tuesday's City Council agenda. As reported by Urbanize LA, the state Department of Housing and Community Development issued a notice of violation in late 2025 that gives Glendale until Thursday to reverse its decision.
What the state notice could cost the city
The state notice leans on the Housing Accountability Act and recent changes made by AB 130 this year, which require courts to impose minimum fines on local agencies that fail to comply with orders to approve qualifying housing projects. According to the AB 130 bill text, the minimum fine is $10,000 per unit, and a court may multiply that amount if it finds the agency acted in bad faith. Applied to the Glendale proposal, that math pushes potential penalties into the tens of millions of dollars, a hit that Commercial Observer pegged at roughly $34 million. The full bill language is hosted on LegiScan.
Design quarrel drove the denial
Back in October, a majority of the council said no to the Sears proposal on a 4–1 vote, arguing the project failed to honor the historic Art Deco character of the original Sears building. Mayor Ara Najarian cast the lone vote against denial. During that meeting, TCR's attorney and Najarian both warned that ignoring staff and legal advice and rejecting the project could expose Glendale to lawsuits and state enforcement, according to Urbanize LA.
Next steps and what to watch
With staff now recommending approval, the council's Tuesday vote will determine whether the Sears site moves toward permits or toward a legal fight. A decision to rescind the denial would likely clear the path for the developer to begin the permitting process. If the council sticks with its original rejection, the developer has signaled it may pursue legal remedies, and the state could escalate its enforcement efforts under the Housing Accountability Act. That fork in the road is laid out in the City of Glendale public notices and earlier local coverage from Crescenta Valley Weekly.
