BURBANK : Rules Eased to Repair Damaged Structures

The owners of 14 buildings in Burbank that remain uninhabitable after the Northridge earthquake will not need to meet zoning code requirements or get approval by the city’s planning board because of action the city took this week.

Reconstruction of the buildings, which had damage to 50% or more of their structures, will be approved by administrative review instead of through a public process.

The goal is to make it easier for owners of older buildings to rebuild when they do not meet existing zoning code requirements such as those for parking or open space.

However, reconstruction work would have to meet current building and safety codes.

Sprinkler systems would be necessary to meet fire codes and disabled access would have to be ensured.

“We didn’t want these buildings just patched back together,” said Bob Tague, the city’s redevelopment director.

Having the administrative review ensures that the buildings are rebuilt properly, he said.

Usually, any building that has to be rebuilt by 50% or more would also have to follow zoning requirements.

After the Jan. 17 Northridge earthquake, the city of Burbank had declared 22 buildings uninhabitable.

Another 160 were classified as having limited access.

Since then, the list of uninhabitable buildings has dropped, with some taken off the list as further inspections showed the buildings were safe and others were repaired.

The 14 buildings on the list now include three apartment buildings, four office buildings, six homes and an animal hospital.

The City Council also extended for six months a waiver of building permit fees for all earthquake-damaged buildings.

That amount is typically about 1% of the total construction cost, said Bruce Feng, city building inspector.

By eliminating the public review process to rebuild the uninhabitable buildings, the owners can potentially save several thousand dollars, Tague said.