Burbank’s Growth Brings City Council Race to a Head

The signs of growth and development seem to be everywhere in Burbank.

Gridlocked traffic clogs residential neighborhoods, new homes and apartments continue their march up hillsides, and smog hangs heavy over Burbank, earning the city a reputation as a hot spot for air pollution.

Slowing growth has long topped the community’s agenda, and this election year is no different. If there is one thing that the front-runners in the 14-candidate race for three Burbank City Council seats agree on, it is that growth must be controlled.

Attacked by Challengers

Three incumbents running for reelection--Mayor Al F. Dossin, Mary E. Kelsey and Michael R. Hastings--have been attacked by their challengers for not doing enough to protect single-family neighborhoods and for not providing effective leadership in dealing with the community and with developers.

“The incumbents have done very little to preserve the sanctity of single-family neighborhoods,” said Tim Murphy, one of the challengers. “Voters have to look at the direction this city is going and figure out if they’re happy.”

The incumbents say that they stand on their records, and that they have brought a new openness and deeper level of concern to City Hall. They say they have done much to control rampant growth and, at the same time, have brought several significant projects to Burbank.

“I want managed growth,” Kelsey said. “But people have to realize you can’t put a wall around the city. You can’t keep who’s coming in out.”

Murphy, an attorney, and another challenger, businessman Tom Flavin, have been gaining momentum as the campaign winds toward Tuesday’s election. Murphy and Flavin, who both promise to control development and protect single-family neighborhoods, have raised significant campaign funds and have been endorsed by various community groups and local unions.

The campaign is also being influenced by the actions of one council member who is not running--Mary Lou Howard, one of Burbank’s more visible, influential and popular politicians.

Howard, who is in the middle of her third four-year term, said she is supporting Dossin, but not Hastings or Kelsey. She said she favors Flavin and Murphy over her more experienced colleagues.

Political Novices

What effect Howard’s influence will have on the race remains to be seen. But it was her support four years ago that was largely responsible for the victories of Dossin, Hastings and Kelsey. The three were political novices Howard endorsed to defeat two incumbents with whom she often clashed. She said she felt that they shared her philosophy of slowing down growth in Burbank.

Three years later, Howard told residents that she had made a mistake. She said the majority of the council has favored projects that were incompatible with single-family neighborhoods.

The candidates do not run for specific seats. Candidates need 50% of the votes plus one vote to win in this election. An April runoff will be held if three candidates don’t get a majority of the vote. The top vote-getters would then claim victory.

Council members serve for four-years terms and earn $600 a month. The five members rotate into the mayor’s seat for one year. The weekly council meetings are televised over the Sammons Communications public-access cable channel.

Flavin and Murphy say there has been too much growth under the present council. A number of large developments, including a controversial 129-home tract on undeveloped hillside land, were approved. Many of the projects were in or around residential areas dominated by single-family homes, and density restrictions for some properties were loosened to accommodate the developments.

Accusations Denied

However, the incumbents deny the accusations. They cited their defeat of a developer’s plan to put a public storage office in the middle of a neighborhood where residents keep horses. They said they only loosened density restrictions in special circumstances.

Dossin, Hastings and Kelsey have come under increasing criticism from their challengers, who say the incumbents haven’t dealt effectively with increasing traffic and pollution.

Residents of the city’s Media District, where many film and television studios are headquartered, have long complained about traffic from the business area coming into their neighborhoods. The residents said no effective traffic and development controls have been established.

The city was also named by the South Coast Air Quality Management District last year as one of the worst areas in the county for air pollution. The report called the Burbank area--which includes Glendale and North Hollywood--a “hot spot” of air pollution.

The council has authorized studies by officials to reduce pollution, which is emanating from cars and industries. City officials are also studying ways to reduce gridlock and traffic, including a major traffic circulation plan for the Media District.

‘Not Taken Leadership Role’

“Sure, they’ve been talking about it, but that talk has not translated into action,” Murphy said. “This council has not taken a leadership role.”

The council has also been chastised for its efforts in selecting a developer for a 41-acre redevelopment site in downtown Burbank. The city has been trying to bring a major shopping mall to the property for almost 20 years.

Last month, four development firms competing for the right to negotiate for the project appeared before the council. The session was marked by hostile exchanges between the developers and council members. At the end of 5 1/2 hours, council members were still arguing about which developer they wanted to negotiate with and delayed their decision for a week.

One of the developers, the partnership of Price Co. and Kornwasser & Friedman Shopping Center Properties, angrily withdrew its proposal after Kelsey said residents did not want its project, which would be anchored by the Price Club, a discount store. One councilman said he was embarrassed by some of the exchanges.

“It was the observation of many people watching that the council was unable to deal with important issues facing them,” Flavin said.

$160-Million Mall

However, the three incumbents all claim credit for their roles in eventually choosing Alexander Haagen Co. to build the $160-million downtown shopping mall.

Talk about the proposed Haagen project, “The Burbank Gateway,” is also a hot topic at community forums and informal coffee gatherings. Although the present council entered a tentative agreement with Haagen, the specifics of the project will be worked out by the next council.

Murphy and Flavin have both said they are not entirely pleased with the Haagen concept.

“This project only has retail going for it, and I would like to see other elements such as entertainment,” Murphy said. “I think we should have a downtown that’s alive.”

Dossin, 59, an insurance salesman, said he is confident that residents will be happy with the Haagen project. “It’s the major thing we’ve done, and I think when people see more details of what it will be, they will be surprised.”

Unlikely Choice

Dossin would appear to be the most unlikely choice of the incumbents for Howard to support. He opposed her unsuccessful attempts to impose building moratoriums and backed many projects she voted against.

But Dossin recently voted to place a Howard-authored ordinance on the February ballot that would limit construction of apartment buildings and other large residential developments. More importantly, he voted against placing a similar ordinance authored by Hastings on the same ballot.

Of her support of Dossin, Howard said: “The point is not whether you agree with a person on everything, but whether you can work with them.”

Until a few months ago, Hastings, 35, an advertising executive, had been Howard’s ally in growth control on the council. But differences over the competing ordinances have bitterly split them. Howard said she would not allow her name to appear on the same campaign literature as Hastings because she did not want to be politically associated with him.

Hastings said he brought a new openness and perspective to the council. He authored an ordinance that banned toy guns in Burbank. He also was the force behind commissioning a controversial memorial to war veterans, and he established a yearly running event that benefits the hungry and homeless.

‘Way Out Ahead’

“I’ve proven that Burbank is not a senior Sleepy Hollow, that there are young, aggressive and bright people who work here,” he said. “I was way out ahead on the slow-growth issue, which the community knows is the No. 1 problem.”

Kelsey, 72, said she is running on her record. She said she is also proud of her role in the selection of a shopping center. She said that with the city’s recently adopted land use plan, the city will be able to control growth.

Flavin, 42, an executive with an investment and finance corporation, said the council needs to be more focused on dealing with increased development.

“Hopefully, I can be a catalyst in that regard, not only with growth, but in getting a quality retail center,” said Flavin, who is vice chairman of the city’s Planning Board.

Murphy, 35, a deputy public defender in San Fernando, said the incumbents “have done very little to preserve the sanctity of residential neighborhoods.” He said he would work to protect those neighborhoods and to improve communication among council members. He said he also wants to shore up relations between neighborhoods and the council.

Murphy is head of the Neighborhood Awareness Committee, which four years ago staged an unsuccessful drive to establish districts within Burbank that would be represented by individual council members.

Campaign Contributions

Flavin has raised $13,720 in campaign contributions, while Murphy has raised $7,935, according to disclosure statements filed with the city clerk’s office. Dossin has raised $11,817, Kelsey $6,958 and Hastings $4,097.

Dossin, Flavin and Murphy have been endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 15, the Burbank City Employees Assn., the Burbank Firefighters Local 778 and other local unions. Dossin, Kelsey and Hastings have been endorsed by the Burbank Police Officers Assn. Hastings, Flavin and Kelsey have been endorsed by the Burbank Board of Realtors.

Other candidates include:

George Bonney, 55, a Los Angeles County Fire Department captain. Bonney, a resident of the city’s equestrian Rancho area, is considered by Howard to be a dark horse in the council race due to that area’s loyal support. He said he would work to mitigate the negative effects of increasing development in commercial and residential neighborhoods.

Morris (Morey) Goodstein, 67, owner of Morey’s Shoes on the city’s pedestrian Golden Mall. Goodstein said the council has not been effective in finding a downtown shopping center. He said it needs a business professional to help with complicated deals.

Tom Kaptain, 30, a personnel recruiter for a stock brokerage firm. Kaptain headed Burbank Citizens Against the Tax Giveaway, a community group that protested a proposed development by Walt Disney Co. for a $611-million retail-entertainment project in downtown Burbank. He said he wants to protect residential neighborhoods from increasing commercial growth.

Dianne Adams, 54, a businesswoman and frequent critic of the council. Adams said her priorities include building a youth center and senior housing, and she cited her weekly attendance of council meetings as a plus.

Lud Grande, 64, a tax preparer. Grande, who has lost two previous council bids, said he wants to help with completing the shopping center and would work to control graffiti.

Lee Paysinger, 53, a waitress. Paysinger said she was interested in appointing neighborhood liaisons to work with the council. She also wants to control growth and set up more child-care centers.

Jules Kimmett, 70, the city’s most frequent critic and a regular at public meetings. Kimmett, who is known for outbursts that are spiced with baseball imagery during council sessions, is staging his fourth campaign for the council. Claiming that he is “the most qualified man for the job,” Kimmett said he wants to make sure that the city “doesn’t get taken” with the proposed shopping center.

Tom Milstead, 19, who is unemployed. Milstead, who was student body president of Burbank High School last year, said he wants to “keep Burbank the way it is” and increase tourism.

Melvin Perlitsh, 60, a retired postal employee and another of the council’s regular critics. Perlitsh said he wants to clean up the city’s water and environment, and stop the council from giving “huge monuments to greedy developers.”

Other races on the ballot include city treasurer and city clerk.

Jack Whitney, 79, who has served as treasurer for nine years, is running against Joe H. Adams Jr., a senior state auditor; Dianne Maritt, an accountant, and Jim Rogers, a retired bank executive.

City Clerk Merle Woodburn, who has served for four years, is running unopposed.