State Money to Buy Hillside Land Unavailable to Burbank This Year

State funds that Burbank officials were hoping to use to purchase 235 acres of privately owned hillside property to preserve as open space will not be available this year, city officials announced Tuesday.

But Burbank Mayor Mary Lou Howard said after a lobbying trip to Sacramento that she is optimistic that the city might get state money next year to turn the property, most of it owned by a developer, into a park.

Howard, along with Rich Inga, Burbank parks and recreation director, and Doug Holland, acting city attorney, spent Monday in Sacramento discussing the potential purchase with several legislators, including Senate President Pro Tem David A. Roberti (D-Los Angeles).

Howard said that the legislators supported the city’s proposal but that the request for funds came too late to be considered in the state budget for the 1985-86 fiscal year.

“Sen. Roberti informed us that nothing can be done this year because the budget is already on the governor’s desk,” Howard said. “We were hoping that there might be a bill in the hopper that we could tag onto the budget, but I left feeling very comfortable that the state officials would be supportive of Burbank if the monies were available next year.”

Among the hillside parcels the city wants to purchase is 185 acres owned by Sherman Whitmore, whose controversial proposal to build two residential developments there was rejected in October by the Burbank City Council.

Residents Complain

The council action came after hundreds of Burbank residents complained that the new homes would destroy the city’s last natural preserve and create noise and traffic in nearby neighborhoods.

Whitmore could not be reached Tuesday for comment.

Howard said the city would like to buy the property to preserve as a greenbelt for public recreation. The area is designated as a mountain reserve in the city’s general plan.

In March, Whitmore submitted maps to the city outlining new proposals to develop his property. The plans have not been formally submitted to the city, however, and Whitmore is continuing to revise them, Holland said.

“At the same time, the city has always been interested in potentially acquiring the properties which have been designated as open-space elements,” the city attorney said.

Howard said state Sen. Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys) suggested last month that state money might be available for the land acquisition.

“Sen. Roberti now is in a position to help find that money,” she said.

Holland said an independent appraiser had determined the value of Whitmore’s land and an adjacent 50-acre parcel owned by five other people. Holland said he could not disclose the appraised value because of continuing negotiations between the city and Whitmore, but that the land is worth “in the millions of dollars.”