BURBANK : Preoccupation With Development Will Carry City Into ’93

Reeling from the historic decline of Southern California’s defense industry and hemorrhaging jobs, the city of Burbank spent 1992 obsessed with one subject--development.

The obsession will carry over into 1993--the desire for development pitted against the fear of excessive growth are the dominant issues of the Burbank City Council elections scheduled for February.

“Our priority is clearly to increase economic development,” City Manager Robert Ovrom said recently. “Otherwise, we’re looking at shrinking city revenues--and that means cuts in city services.”

As the city has watched the erosion of its tax base and the loss of more than 12,000 jobs in the last two years, it has steadfastly refused to consider any tax or fee increases.

That has left only one option--”to increase the size of the pie in the middle of a recession,” Ovrom said.

“Burbank has always been considered job rich. We used to have about 85,000 jobs in a city of 90,000 people,” Ovrom said. “But we can’t maintain the level of services we’ve become accustomed to without increasing city revenue.”

The city has adopted a variety of strategies to attract new development, from changing city zoning laws to wooing big companies to relocate in Burbank.

The most notable legal change came in August, when the council voted to cut its own power by dramatically streamlining city development procedures. Under the new ordinance, most medium and small projects that do not require code exemptions are automatically approved, without review by the council or citizen appeal.

The streamlining ordinance dramatically reduces the power of people opposed to projects because it provides that development proposals may be appealed only if city planners believe they are inconsistent with city zoning laws.

“This is a pro-business move that destroys all our protections,” said Councilman Tom Murphy, who cast the lone vote against the ordinance. “This whole process in effect cuts out the little guy. Everyone knows the economy is in the toilet, but this goes too far. It’s worse than the disease it’s trying to cure.”

Ted McConkey, president of the Burbank Rancho Homeowners association, predicted the ordinance will come back to haunt Burbank after the recession.

“The recession has nothing to do with Burbank’s zoning codes,” he said. “Developers were doing fine here until the recession hit. What the council has done is abdicated any responsibility for land-use planning in this city. The impact of this vote will plague Burbank for years to come.”

Even the Burbank school board grappled with the issue of development in 1992, when parents opposed to converting an elementary school to a year-round, multi-track schedule blamed new apartment construction for the overcrowded conditions at Joaquin Miller School.

The city may also loosen zoning codes on apartments to spur new construction. On Dec. 22, the council asked city planners to draw up an ordinance that would waive some rules on new apartments if the developer agreed to reserve some units for low-income residents. That proposal will probably come before the council in March.

The city has had limited success in attracting development.

In October, it approved major expansion projects for two entertainment giants--a 25-year, $600-million expansion of Walt Disney Studios headquarters and a smaller expansion by Warner Bros., which plans to build a five-story, 142,000-square-foot office building next to the company’s studio complex.

These actions represent the council’s belief that Burbank must turn to the entertainment industry to save the city’s economy after the loss of aerospace jobs.

In a recent speech to the Burbank Chamber of Commerce, Mayor Robert Bowne said the Disney expansion “may be the most historic and important decision a city council has made in Burbank in the past 20 to 25 years.”

Meanwhile, Bullock’s opened a new store in the Media Center Mall in August, which city officials hope will ensure the mall’s success. The mall, which opened in 1991, and the surrounding office and retail complex were built with the help of city redevelopment funds.

However, Burbank’s excitement over new retailers and expanded entertainment operations was tempered by setbacks. Zero Corp., which once employed hundreds of people in aerospace-related jobs, completed the shutting down of its Burbank operations. Lockheed Corp. recently transferred more than 1,000 jobs from Burbank to the Antelope Valley, and the Andrew Jergens Co. shut down its soap-making plant.

The results of other major economic initiatives begun in 1992 remain unclear.

The city has been negotiating with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. to open a “mega-store” near the Burbank Airport, and the Los Angeles Clippers are considering whether to move to a 20,000-seat arena that would also be built near the airport.

But both plans face tough hurdles. The proposed new construction would be on land owned by Lockheed that is laden with toxic waste. Costly cleanup hangs like a cloud over both the Wal-Mart and arena proposals. Wal-Mart and the Clippers also are considering sites outside Burbank.

Council members have come under heavy criticism from neighborhood groups for their zeal to help the business community.

In February, Burbank voters will have a chance to elect a new majority to the five-member council because the three incumbents up for reelection have decided not to run again.

A record 22 candidates have indicated they will run.

The crowded field ensures that at least one local industry will do pretty well in 1993: the folks who print campaign flyers.