ELECTIONS : BURBANK CITY COUNCIL : 2 Incumbents File for Reelection in a Surprise Late Move

Two Burbank City Council incumbents will defend their seats against 13 council critics and political novices in the Feb. 26 municipal election, filing papers showed Thursday.

Council members Mary Lou Howard, 53, and Robert R. Bowne, 45, were among the last of 15 candidates who filed statements before the 5 p.m. deadline of their intent to run. The election is shaping up as a referendum on growth policies.

The announcement by Howard and Bowne surprised City Hall observers, because both had indicated for several months that they would not seek reelection.

“I had a lot of people who supported me, and talked me into running again,” Howard said. “There are lots of things we’ve accomplished, and there’s still more work to do.”

Among others who filed papers for the council race were Edwin La Rocque, 39, a business consultant and chairman of the Burbank Park and Recreation Board; George Battey, 64, a civil engineer and chairman of the Burbank Planning Board; Tom McCauley, 62, a former general manager of the city’s Public Service Department who was asked to resign in February of 1988; and Jules Kimmett, 72, a school janitor and one of the city’s most vocal gadflies.

Another eight candidates will vie for three seats on the Burbank school board. Voters will also decide three growth-control measures that were initiated by residents who say they are fed up with increasing development around their neighborhoods.

The only school board candidate seeking reelection is William S. Abbey, 45, also a deputy state attorney general. Board members Tomme Lenz and Charles Goldwasser, who have both served one term, have decided not to run “for personal reasons relating to family,” City Hall sources said.

The council and school board races are expected to be overshadowed by campaigning for three slow-growth measures that have already drawn an angry response from developers and large-business owners.

Measure A says it would place “reasonable annual limits” on the development of major commercial projects and the construction of multiple-unit residential projects, forbidding building more than 250 residential units or more than 350,000 square feet of commercial or industrial floor area per year.

It would also limit the construction of high-rise buildings and prohibit new ones in areas near residential neighborhoods.

Measure B would also limit high-rise development throughout the city but does not call for building caps on residential or commercial building.

Measure C would restrict the sale or lease of school property and parks to private developers. The Burbank school board has already voiced its opposition to the measure.

Passage of Measures A and B would effectively void the Specific Plan for development in the city’s Media District which was approved Tuesday by the City Council. That plan restricts buildings to a maximum of 15 stories, although taller ones could be built in special cases.

Executives of three major local studios--NBC, Warner Bros. and Disney--say they will fight to defeat Measures A and B, which would impose stricter growth limits on them than the Specific Plan, which the studios had supported.

The council race is expected to be heated for the two incumbents, observers said. Howard often clashes with Bowne, Mayor Thomas Flavin and Vice Mayor Michael R. Hastings, and will probably seek to increase her influence on the five-member panel by endorsing a prospective ally instead of Bowne, they said.

Howard traditionally has been a slow-growth advocate, while Bowne has been criticized by residents as favoring developers.

The other candidates for the council are:

* Joel Schlossman, 29, a licensed general contractor and real estate agent who said he wants to bring quality growth to Burbank.

* Lorraine Bellis-Mark, 31, an office manager for a printing shop who would like Burbank to have more retail stores. Bellis-Mark, a member of the city’s library board, is also a slow-growth advocate.

* Mason Arnold, 85, a retired engineer, who said he was not for or against development, but was an advocate for “orderly progress.”

* Dianne Adams, a businesswoman who has been a continual critic of development in the city.

* Ed Tarandek, 24, a political science senior at Cal State Northridge.

* Mark Chotiner, 22, a speech communications senior at Cal State Northridge. Tarandek and Chotiner are running as a team, and their main objective is to “encourage people to get out and vote,” Tarandek said.

* Elizabeth Handler, 46, a public relations executive and homeowners association board member who wants a “moderate approach to growth.”

* David Golonski, 32, a business consultant and slow-growth advocate.

* Jim Torp, another political newcomer running for the council, who could not be reached Thursday.

A dominant issue in the school board race will be coping with the need for deferred maintenance of district schools, officials said. The district also would like to build a new high school to replace the deteriorating Burbank High School.

Abbey, 45, will be challenged by Joe Hooven, a park and recreation board member who owns a window-covering business; Edgar Dieter, 65, a retired businessman; Elena Hubbell, a real estate agent; Robert B. Dunivant, a retired Burbank teacher and football coach; Ronald Cwik, 36, a cardiopulmonary technologist; Lee Paysinger, 55, chairwoman of the city’s Library Board who said she wants to control growth; and S. Michael Stavropoulos, a neurosurgeon.