Memo

City of Glendale ● 5850 West Glendale Avenue, Suite 212, Glendale, Arizona 85301-2599 ● (623) 930-2800 
Planning 
Memorandum 
DATE: 
November 16, 2021 
TO: 
Historic Preservation Commission  
FROM: 
Alex Lerma, Planning Division  
SUBJECT: 
Heart of Glendale Bronze Plaques  
 
Planning staff would like to bring this item before the Historic Preservation Commission as a 
refresher and a way to bring the new members of the Commission up to date on this project. 
Through several Commission meetings, both staff and the Commission have discussed the 
installation of bronze plaques in three (3) separate locations within the Heart of Glendale 
neighborhood in recognition of its community members and their contribution to the downtown 
Glendale area.     
 
The proposal was initially brought to the Commission during the “business for the floor” portion 
of the meeting by Mr. Bob Casares, a Glendale resident, on December 22, 2016. Through various 
meetings between late 2016 and May 23, 2019, both staff and the Commission took steps to 
move the project forward, including the review of examples of plaque style and the likely 
locations of the plaques.  As an attachment, staff has provided the Commission with a timeline of 
the past Historic Preservation Commission meetings and the discussion items in regard to the 
proposed bronze plaques for the Heart of Glendale Neighborhood.   
 
Since late 2019, the project has not moved forward. Staff understands that there is still a lot of 
ground to cover and has put together items that need to be addressed/completed for the project to 
move forward. The next steps include:   
 
Neighborhood meeting/s:  
Staff understands the community members within the Heart of Glendale have had little to no 
input in this process. Staff would like to hold a neighborhood meeting/open house in order to get 
the members of the community more involved with this process and get their input as well.  
 
Inter developmental processes 
Based on the past approval of the three locations by the Commission (Cerreta Candy Company, 
Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, and El Barrio Park), staff will need to contact the Engineering, 
Transportation, and Park and Recreation departments and comply with their respective processes 
for the installation of the plaque within the right-of-way and at the park. In addition, staff will 
need to establish communication with those in charge of the logistics of Our Lady of Guadalupe 
Church property.

City of Glendale ● 5850 West Glendale Avenue, Suite 212, Glendale, Arizona 85301-2599 ● (623) 930-2800 
Language for the Plaques 
It is staff’s understanding that initial draft language was prepared for the plaques, but new staff 
has no documentation to verify if this is accurate. With that being said, all parties involved will 
need to come to a consensus and agree on what language should be placed on the plaque.