GLENDALE GRABBING THE GUSTO; BUILDING BOOM FUELED BY LOW VACANCY RATE, NO BUSINESS TAXES.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

Although Burbank often takes the limelight as the small city with all the right stuff, neighboring Glendale has just as much going for it these days.

One of the few cities in the state with no business taxes, Glendale is becoming a media town to rival Burbank with DreamWorks SKG and KABC-TV (Channel 7) planning to set up shop in this city of 200,000. Earlier this year, The Walt Disney Co. bought a 100-acre industrial park in Glendale to expand the operations of its Imagineering theme-park division.

With commercial real estate vacancy rates at about 7 percent, the city is in the midst of an office-building boom. In a sign of Glendale's growing cachet as a business center, the first office building built on speculation in about a decade in Los Angeles County - the 24-story Glendale Plaza - is nearing completion on a site along the Ventura Freeway.

``We have lower fees to develop and we have lower fees to operate your business,'' said Jeanne Armstrong, the city's director of development services. ``When people look at that, it makes Glendale a fairly easy choice.''

The amount of new construction in the fiscal year to date has been valued at $162 million, nearly double the amount recorded by the city in the mid-1990s.

But although residents acknowledge that the growth helps pay for city services, some question whether the latest development spurt is starting to chip away at the high quality of life in Glendale.

``The city has historically not done the best job that it could in mitigating the impacts associated with the growth,'' said Rob Sharkey, president of the Glendale Homeowners Coordinating Council. ``You can feel it in the length of time that it takes to drive across Glendale or in the length of time that it takes to get a library book on reserve.''

By reputation a fiscally conservative city, Glendale in recent years has made hotly debated cutbacks in libraries, city employees and other public services to help balance its budget and avoid deficits.

Nevertheless, Glendale's budget reserves remain at more than 40 percent of its operating budget, nearly twice the percentage of Burbank's reserves, which are already considered substantial.

Glendale is not as rich as Burbank in relative terms. Glendale's operating budget of $86 million last year was about the same as that of Burbank, a city half its size. But Glendale's leaders say their city, like Burbank, can better respond to residents' concerns than the politicians in a metropolis like Los Angeles.

There is one Glendale City Council member for every 40,000 residents, compared with one Los Angeles City Council member for nearly 250,000 residents.

``We are able to keep a closer watch on the community. In a smaller city, it is easier to notice the issues that we are dealing with,'' said Councilman Larry Zarian, who also has served four one-year terms as mayor.

``In our city, our constituents can call us directly if they want to discuss an issue. I don't know if you can do that in Los Angeles.''

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PHOTO An office tower under construction near Central Avenue and the Ventura Freeway illustrates Glendale's fertile business climate.

Myung J. Chun/Daily News