BURBANK : Preservation Plan to Get a New Hearing

City and business leaders will sit down with the Burbank Historic Society this week to try once again to resurrect a historic preservation ordinance.

Progress of the ordinance has been slowed by a disagreement between property owners and preservationists. The owners say they fear that the city will restrict their property rights by forbidding changes to the historical sites. The preservationists say that for the ordinance to be effective, some restrictions are necessary.

The historical society withdrew its participation in the process of developing the ordinance in April, after the City Council eliminated language that would prevent the owner of a historic property to make changes.

Mayor George Battey Jr. has scheduled a meeting today with the historical society, the Burbank Chamber of Commerce and the Burbank Board of Realtors to work out a solution.

“I think we should be able to get together on it,” said Joseph Terranova, head of the local government issues committee for the Burbank Board of Realtors who will be in the negotiations. “We’re not that far apart. We’re basically concerned with the rights of the property owners.”

All sides have agreed that the owner’s consent should be secured before a site is given historic designation by the city. But at issue will be what restrictions can be made on future changes.

Battey, a member of the historical society, said he hoped that by creating a city ordinance, Burbank will also prevent the state and county from stepping in to make historic designations, which takes the issue away from local control. A year ago, in the wake of City Council inaction, the state designated a Bob’s Big Boy Restaurant on Riverside Drive as a landmark, despite the owner’s objections.