Burbank City Council Meeting Summary - 2-28-23
A brief overview of the topics and decisions made at the 2-28-23 city council meeting
On Tuesday, Feb. 28th, 2023, the city council met to discuss several items.
Here is my summary of our discussions and decisions.
Study Session regarding state-level housing and zoning laws: Council starting early on Tuesday in a study session. We received an overview of the state-level housing and zoning laws that affect our community. In general, the laws were created to make it harder for the community to stop or stall a multi-unit residential development without specific health, safety, or non-compliance reasons. The main way that this has been achieved is by requiring objective standards be used for ministerial (automatic) approval and by adjusting zoning laws to be more flexible. While the presentation was informative, it was a surface level overview. There was also community concern of not having enough notice for this meeting, nor was there enough opportunity for public participation. I agree with this sentiment. I am considering holding a housing law Town Hall for our community. Would you be interested in attending? If so, please fill out this form to let me know your interests and concerns.
Update regarding the new Burbank Airport: Council received an update on the progress towards our new Burbank Airport. Here is the powerpoint which was presented.
Public Hearing regarding an R1 home development: City council unanimously denied an appeal regarding a Conditional Use Permit (CUP) for a home development at 1521 E. Alameda. While the public hearing was about the CUP, council recognized that the way the code is written and the way the community is informed about the appeal process are both unclear and lead to appeals like where the council has no option but to allow the construction. Council discussed with staff the importance of updating the appeal information for the community, so they don’t waste their time and money. Council also agendized later in the meeting a revisit of the CUP and appeal processes in the city code. Public Hearing starts at the 1:15 mark.
City of Burbank Electric Vehicle (EV) update: Council received an update on the city’s EV system and the projected increase in EV chargers both on private and public property. Here is the powerpoint presentation.
Selection of Burbank representative for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Affordable Housing Authority (BGPAHA): Council unanimously voted to appoint Councilmember Nikki Perez to the BGPAHA. This is the powerpoint with more information about the Authority and its role.
Mid-year Budget Adjustments to 2022-2023 City Budget: Council unanimously voted to approve the requested financial adjustments to the city budget. The net adjustments amounted to approximately $1M of increased use of general funds, which is within the range of normal mid-year appropriations. Details on what was updated are in this powerpoint presentation.
My community activity report:
2-15-23 - Attended the Burbank Police Department Community meeting on the inventory and use of military equipment.
2-16-23 - Attended the Burbank Economic Development subcommittee meeting.
2-21-23 - Attended a National League of Cities training and demonstration on using national data for creating local eviction prevention policy and procedures.
2-22-23 - Attended the California League of Cities AAPI caucus meeting.
2-23-23 - Attended the San Fernando Valley Economic Alliance Board meeting.
2-25-23 - Attended the Burbank Noon Rotary 100th Anniversary Gala and Awards
2-26-23 - Attended an online Town Hall with Rob Bonta (CA Attorney General) regarding the “Housing Strike Force”.
2-27-23 - Attended the California League of Cities Women’s caucus meeting.
As always, I appreciate the public comments and engagement regarding the topics of this meeting. I had a hard time keeping up with emails and phone calls this month as it’s finals in my graduate program. If you reached out and didn’t hear from me, I will do my best to get back to you. But if I don’t, please reach out again. In general, keep sending your thoughts! It helps us consider these issues from multiple perspectives. ttakahashi@burbankca.gov and/or citycouncil@burbankca.gov
The next meeting is Mar. 14th, 6:00pm. The tentative topics are air quality update, first public hearing of election districting, SB9 extension, and (finally) the introduction of a city ordinance for single use plastics. Agenda forecast here.