Draft Smog Proposal : Burbank Favoring Pollution Plan

The Burbank City Council, faced with some of the worst air pollution in the Los Angeles area, Tuesday generally endorsed a draft plan by California air pollution control officials designed to reduce pollution by the year 2007.

However, city officials expressed concern about the effect of some of the plan’s suggestions on residents and businesses. Ride-sharing, controls on development, rescheduling of work hours and reducing workweeks are among the broad measures proposed.

“Some of these measures could have an adverse affect on the economy,” said William R. Kelly, the city’s community development director. “It would be a real balancing act. This could hurt employers or residents, but we have to do something to improve our air quality.”

A South Coast Air Quality Management District report earlier this year named the Burbank area--which also includes Glendale, North Hollywood and Van Nuys--as a “hot spot” for air pollution. Hot spots are areas that show “significantly higher” concentrations of toxic air contaminants, the agency said.

Concentrations in the area pose a cancer risk that, while still low, is twice as high as in other areas of Los Angeles, according to the report.

Increased Cancer Risk

The increased risk means that the amount of contaminants could cause cancer in 100 of 100,000 people, based on the assumption that a person would be exposed to those concentrations over 70 years, district officials said.

The general plan approved Tuesday was submitted by the district and the Southern California Assn. of Governments to all cities in Los Angeles and Orange counties.

Kelly said he will meet with the staff and some Burbank businesses to see if the state proposals can be implemented in Burbank. The deadline for cities to submit their own implementation plans is Dec. 16, he said.