BURBANK : City Ordinance Will Address Coffee Store

The Burbank City Council has asked the city attorney to draft an ordinance that would allow a coffee store to open at Rancho Market Place on Alameda Avenue.

The city planning board had not supported having a Starbucks Coffee go into the plaza--where Vons Pavilions Center is situated--because it would violate city limitations on restaurants.

However, representatives of Starbucks, a chain based in Seattle, told the council that they consider their operation a retail coffee store, even though customers can sit and drink coffee and eat pastries.

As a preliminary step toward approving the store’s opening, the council declared that the operation would not have a significant impact on the environment. The ordinance also would allow a veterinary clinic and a dog washing operation at the plaza.

Burbank resident Mike Nolan said he is concerned that allowing the coffee store to operate at the center would open the door for any kind of restaurant to move into the site later.

Mayor George Battey Jr. said the ordinance would have to be written in such a way that it did not mention Starbucks Coffee by name, but would specifically describe what type of business it is. City Atty. Joseph Fletcher said he would have the proposed ordinance before the City Council in two weeks.

City planners said they were concerned that allowing more restaurant use in the plaza would go against the Rancho Market Place Master Plan, a neighborhood protection plan designed to preserve the residential areas surrounding the plaza. However, city officials also said that a small, quality coffee shop would enhance pedestrian activity on the street, drawing in more shoppers.

The shopping center also includes a Denny’s restaurant, which had asked the city to allow it to operate 24 hours a day, but withdrew that request at a planning board meeting Sept. 27. Residents had complained to the city that an all-night restaurant would attract problems such as gangs, crowds and noise.