In response to the ongoing parking problem, Glendale Community College has proposed a plan to use $19 million of Measure G funds to build a new parking structure.

According to Vice President of Administrative Services Larry Serot, the parking crisis goes back as far as the 1970s. “It’s been an ongoing problem,” said Serot. “It’s only gotten worse because our enrollment has jumped so significantly.”

In the proposed plan, as many as 1,100 new parking spaces could be added. This would increase the current total of 2,000 spaces by more than a third.

When the college first convened a parking task force of college officials, community members and city officials to address the growing problem, three options were raised.

The first option was to build a parking lot under the athletic field. However, this option was soon ruled out because it was deemed too costly, said Serot.

The next two options included building a parking structure on the upper campus lots and buying property to construct more spaces.

These two options are the ones now under consideration.

The college is negotiating to buy the property where an apartment building stands just north of the campus on Verdugo Road. An offer has been made, but the owner has yet to reply, Serot said.

According to Serot, buying this property would be most advantageous because the school already owns land behind the apartments. If the plan were to go through, by leveling out the property, GCC could potentially build 450 spaces.

As for the parking structure in the upper lot, if this proposal goes through, the school could potentially pick up 750 spots. According to Serot, the upper campus lot currently has about 950 spaces. The two locations would provide 1,100 new spaces.

Serot said that if the school were able to utilize the apartment complex option, the 450 spots that would be taken during construction of the structure, would be picked up by the 450 spaces that the purchasing of the apartment complex would create.

This would ensure that the school would not lose parking spaces during construction.

According to Serot, while the apartment complex option is still in its early stages, the school will most likely be building the structure, however if so, construction would not begin until next fall, said Serot.