Burbank officials, residents meet on home ordinance

For nearly three years, the Burbank Community Development Department has been creating a new set of guidelines and rules for single-family homes in an effort to maintain the characteristics of the city’s many neighborhoods.

Before the Planning Board reviews the suggested modifications on Dec. 12, the Community Development Department hosted a community meeting Thursday night and explained to residents the proposed changes to the city’s rules on what people can do if they are planning a full tear-down renovation or building a new house.

Carol Barrett, assistant community development director, outlined the significant rule changes for single-family homes, which include changing how floor-area ratios are calculated, determining which features of a house count toward the total floor-area ratio, identifying average frontyard setbacks and requiring that an applicant build their addition or home according to the approved plans.

“This represents a culmination of a huge effort by the community, not just the [city] staff,” she said. “It’s the community, the Planning Board, the number of times [the City] Council has discussed this. It’s been a shared effort, and for all those people who worked that hard on it, it’s great to see daylight at the end of the tunnel.”

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If the Planning Board recommends approval of the guidelines and rule changes, the City Council is expected to review the proposal during two public hearings in January.

The Community Development Department has been working to complete the proposed changes before this coming March when the city’s Interim Development Control Ordinance, or IDCO, expires.

The IDCO, which enacted restrictions on what people can construct in terms of a single-family home, was implemented in March 2015 after numerous residents complained about “McMansions” being built in Burbank, which many people believe do not conform to the neighborhoods around the city.

Resident Mark Bethanis , a contractor who builds and remodels homes, said he had issues with the suggested changes and guidelines, saying the aesthetics that other residents want in the city are dated and are not what current home buyers want.

“The character [of the neighborhoods has] been taken away already,” he said.

On the other hand, resident Sue Cleereman said the city’s outreach and willingness to work with residents has led them to a point where the city, she believes, has developed a set of rules and guidelines that would put a damper on any more large-scale homes being constructed.

“City staff has been very inclusive and the outreach has been tremendous,” she said. “This is a work in progress. It’s much needed and much overdue.”

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Anthony Clark Carpio, anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio