BURBANK : Council Backs Limits on Heights of Houses

After four years of delay, a unanimous Burbank City Council has given preliminary approval to an ordinance that imposes a 27-foot height limit on most single-family houses throughout the city.

The measure is aimed at curbing a trend known as “mansionization,” or the development of houses so large that they are out of character for the neighborhoods in which they are built.

While the problem is not a serious one in Burbank, City Planner Rick Pruetz said the ordinance is a preemptive move to keep oversized homes from being built as they have in such cities as Pasadena, Glendale and Malibu.

“Some aspects of the Municipal Code could lead to mansionization,” he said before the council’s action Tuesday. “That could lead to some homes built out of scale. Rather than wait until that happened, staff proposed something that is not an extreme.”

The previous height limit for all single-family houses was 35 feet.

One six-bedroom manse built to that height on a hillside in Burbank has become an eyesore for neighbors, who say it obstructs their views and casts unwanted shadows.

The new regulations still enable new homes to be built up to 35 feet high in Burbank’s northeast hillside area, but imposes a 27-foot limit on the rest of the city.

Even with the limit, however, new houses may be built up to 35 feet as long as the roof is sloped at a 45-degree angle to avoid the appearance of an overwhelmingly large and boxy structure.

“What we did want to prevent is the building of a home that went straight up for 35 feet, with a flat roof on it,” Pruetz said.