Reaping the Rewards of Growth

Grousing about government is an American tradition, practically a birthright of the democracy. And it seems lately that government gives us plenty to complain about--whether it’s how nasty the morning commute has turned or the feeling that we pay more in taxes and get less back than we used to. Although it often appears haggard and inefficient, local government in Southern California is actually doing some good work. Beginning today, The Times occasionally will highlight local governments--from city, county and school bureaucracies to police and transportation departments--that are finding results by looking at problems in new ways. Particularly as the city of Los Angeles wrestles with redrawing its charter, old ways of thinking about the powers and responsibilities of local government need a fresh look. New problems demand innovative solutions.

That seems to be how problems are approached in Burbank, a city that less than a decade ago often deserved the reputation it earned as the butt of Johnny Carson’s jokes. In recent years, however, the city has virtually exploded with new businesses, especially in the revitalized downtown and the studio district in the city’s southeast corner.

With the revenue from that potentially disruptive growth, Burbank officials have created everything from senior housing and better parks to a fleet of electric buses. They’ve also spent millions turning around a gang-ridden neighborhood. Those kinds of perks help mitigate the unpleasant side effects of growth, but Burbank wisely recognizes that a city not moving forward is dying.

Burbank benefits from an effective combination of aggressive staff overseen by a home-grown council that questions and prods until it finds just the right course. Many on the council were citizen-activists before they were elected to official posts. Some were openly critical of the city staff that now reports to them, including City Manager Robert “Bud” Ovrom. Together, the council and its staff have orchestrated the resurrection of Elmwood Avenue, once the most dangerous and rundown neighborhood in town. They did it by buying up many of the apartment buildings and fixing them up. At a time when other cities grapple with where to put new parks, Burbank spiffed up a rundown park with everything from new basketball courts to a championship tennis stadium. And by November, the city will boast one of the largest local fleets of electric buses, an effort to cut regional smog. Those sorts of projects don’t grow out of business-as-usual thinking.

Burbank is not perfect. Most notably, it’s locked in a costly, long-running struggle with its neighbors over expansion of Burbank Airport. But the city demonstrates how much can be done when municipal leaders sit down, map a course and then stick to it. They envisioned the kind of community they wanted. Then they set to work to building it.