1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 28, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director VIA: Fred Ramirez, Assistant Community Development Director, Planning Scott Plambaeck, Planning Manager
BY: Leonard Bechet, Principal Planner
SUBJECT: Update on Project and Consideration of the Development Potential for the Downtown Burbank Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Specific Plan and Associated General Plan Amendment.
RECOMMENDATION
1. Note and file u pdate on the Downtown Burbank Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Specific Plan and Associated General Plan Amendment;
2. Provide policy direction and input on the Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan Development Potential.
BACKGROUND
The Burbank2035 General Plan Realization Land Use Program LU-3 calls for the City to evaluate its existing specific plans, including the Burbank Center Plan, through a public process to determine whether the vision, goals, and policies established by the plans remain applicable and appropriate. This includes revising the plans as necessary to ensure that they reflect current desires of the community for each of the three areas.
To implement this General Plan program, staff applied for and was awarded $310,000 in State Senate Bill (SB) SB2 Planning Grant Program funds and $410,000 from Los Angeles Country Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) under the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) Planning Grant Program to create a new “Specific Plan”. This project was commenced in May 2020 and the resulting Specific Plan will include merging the geographic areas within the 1997 Burbank Center Specific Plan and the 2012 North San Fernando Boulevard Master Plan and their surrounding areas into one planning area. As part of the project, the Specific Plan is considering an amendment to the Burbank2035 General Plan and undertaking an appropriate environmental assessment, in the form of
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 a Program Environmental Impact Report (Program EIR), pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The new Specific Plan is referred to as the Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan (Specific Plan).
The Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan
The approximately 965-acre Specific Plan area is in the central southeastern portion of the City and is generally bounded by Lake Street, Victory Boulevard, and Mariposa Street to the west; San Fernando Boulevard and Andover Drive to the north; Glenoaks Boulevard and Fifth Street to the east; and Tujunga Avenue and the City boundary with Glendale to the south. It encompasses two adopted planning areas (the Burbank Center Plan and the North San Fernando Boulevard Master Plan), Downtown Burbank, and the Downtown Burbank Metrolink Station (Attachment 1). The Specific Plan is analyzing land use, infrastructure, transportation, pedestrian and bicycle amenities, and opportunities for new housing that is affordable for all income levels including our workforce and other in- fill development. The Specific Plan will also analyze vehicle, bicycle, and pedestrian access to the Downtown Burbank Metrolink Station consistent with the City’s Complete Our Streets Plan and study ways to take advantage of economic development opportunities and job creation around the station.
DISCUSSION
The Specific Plan launched in May 2020 and the current goal is to present a complete policy recommendation to the City Council in the Winter of 2024. The Community Development Department has divided the formulation of the Specific Plan into t he following five (5) phases:
o Phase 1 – Discovery (May 2020 – November 2020)
o Phase 2 – Visioning (December 2020 – May 2021)
o Phase 3 – Alternatives/Plan Preparation (May 2021 – Present) o Phase 4 – Public Review (Fall 2023)
o Phase 5 – Adoption and Implementation (Winter 2024)
Community participation throughout every phase of the Specific Plan’s development has been identified as a priority to facilitate a shared community vision. Consistent with Council goals of facilitating greater community engagement, the City has undertaken multiple community workshops, online surveys, stakeholder interviews, a technical working group, and engagement of the various Burbank Boards, Commissions , and Committees. Below is a summary of work completed in Phases 1 through 3.
Phase 1 – Discovery
This phase has been completed. During the Discovery stage, a review of all existing documents and analysis of the Specific Plan area were undertaken to gain a thorough understanding of the Project’s opportunities and constraints ; the City’s needs and expectations; and identification of the preliminary plan goals and objectives, including the formation of a draft vision and guiding principles.
3 This phase ended with presentations to the Inter Departmental Review Committee (IDRC)1 on September 24, 2020 and October 5, 2020; City Council on October 27, 2020; and concluded with a Virtual Community Workshop on November 19, 2020, wherein staff presented an overview of this phase of the project and a draft of the Project Vision and Guiding Principles. These Project components were well received and confirmed allowing staff and the Consultant team the ability to move to the next project phase. The Project Vision and Guiding Principles are provided in Attachment 2.
Phase 2 – Visioning
This phase has been completed. Working off the confirmed Project Vision and Guiding Principles, staff and the Consultant team developed both the Plan Framework that was used to describe the individual transformations that will be implemented by the Specific Plan to create a Downtown with diverse neighborhoods, districts, and c orridors; a well - connected Downtown, north to south and east to west; a street network accessible to all; a public realm of streets and parks; and parking for a mixed-use downtown. Furthermore, consideration of key projects anticipated within each neighborhood, district, and corridor were also shared.
This phase wrapped- up with presentations to the IDRC on January 14, 2021; a Virtual Community Workshop on January 21, 2021, and various Burbank Boards, Commissions, and Committees between March 2021 and May 2021 . These Project components were well received and confirmed allowing staff and the Consultant team the ability to move to the next project phase.
Phase 3 – Alternatives/Plan Preparation
The Specific Plan project is currently in Phase 3, which includes the development of Land Use Alternatives, Development Potential, and work on drafts of the Specific Plan and associated Program EIR. Initial presentations on the Plan Strategy and Developme nt Potential were made to the Planning Commission on May 10, 2021, and to the City Council on May 18, 2021 – after which a Notice of Preparation (NOP) for the Program EIR was released for a 30- day public review and comment period starting on May 18, 2021 and ending on June 19, 2021. A third Virtual Community Workshop and EIR Scoping meeting was held on May 26, 2021. The Development Strategy and Development Potential were well received, and staff and the Consultant Team moved forward on the preparation of the draft Specific Plan and EIR.
One major project envisioned, and currently being planned, is the expansion of the Civic Center to include a new central library, additional city office space, publicly accessible open spaces, and open City-owned properties to allow for the development of new housing units and commercial uses. The Civic Center properties have also been identified in the Housing E lement as Housing Opportunity Sites. An interdepartmental staff team has been working with a consultant to analyze the potential of a public-private partnership (P3) delivery model to carry out the Civic Center Project. Both project teams have been
1 The Interdepartmental Review Committee (IDRC) is made of staff from the Community Development Department, Public Works Department, Parks and Recreation Department, Burbank Water and Power, Burbank Fire Department, Burbank Police Department, and the City A ttorney’s Office. The IDRC reviews all development applications submitted to the City and serves as the Technical Advisory and Working Group for the Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan Project.
4 working together since March 2021 to ensure strategic alignment between the Specific Plan and the Civic Center Project.
Based on stakeholder meetings held in Summer 2021 as well as feedback received from various City departments, adjustments were made to the Development Potential with regards to the total number of anticipated residential units and commercial/industrial floor area ratio (FAR). A second NOP was prepared to reflect these changes to development potential and was released for public review starting on September 21, 2021 and ending on October 22, 2021. A Virtual Community EIR Scoping Meeting was held on October 21, 2021, which also included a Project update.
Revisions to the Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan Development Potential Since October 2021, staff and the Consultant team have been working on developing a draft of the Specific Plan and EIR that is responsive to community input, while also ensuring compliance with the state’s most current housing and land use regula tions.
Furthermore, staff has continued to engage in discussions with the public including key stakeholders (which for the purposes of the Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan are major property owners, significant businesses, and developers who have expressed interest in developing within the proposed Specific Plan) and City staff to complete this effort. As part of this ongoing effort, major changes have been made to the Development Strategy including additional changes to the Land Use Designations in the Burbank2035 General Plan, an increase in the number of units and commercial/industrial FAR proposed as the development potential for the Specific Plan consistent with the envisioned development potential in the General Plan’s 2021- 2029 Housing Element , and establishment of a revised Project Description and Project Alternatives. A summary of these changes is provided below.
Burbank2035 Land Use Adjustments
During recent discussions and analysis , a concern was raised as to preserving longstanding industrial areas that currently include commercial and private industrial uses, City utility sites, such as the Burbank Water and Power ’s (BWP) Magnolia Power Plant, and the City’s wastewater reclamation and treatment plant on the western side of the Specific P lan area between Interstate 5 and Victory Boulevard. Furthermore, the surrounding neighborhood is currently developed with a variety of industrial and commercial uses ranging from media related uses to heavy industrial manufacturing.
To avoid incompatibilities within existing and ongoing industrial sectors , as well as ensuring the long -term viability and continued use of commercial and industrial uses within the planning area, s taff is proposing that a new Burbank2035 General Plan Land Use Designation be created in the area roughly bound by Victory Boulevard to the west, the Metrolink/Amtrak trackage to the north and east, and Tujunga and Verdugo Avenues to the south (Attachment 3) . This new land use designation, West Downtown Commercial/Industrial, would prohibit residential development of all kinds, but would allow both commercial and industrial development with an FAR of 1.0.
To comply with state law (CA Govt. Code Section 66300) and ensure a no net loss of residential units by prohibiting residential development within the West Downtown Commercial/Industrial land use designation area, adjustments are proposed to be made 5 to the eastern portion of the Specific Plan Area, beyond those that were proposed in the 2021 Development Strategy. These changes include the creation of an additional new Burbank2035 General Plan Land Use Designation, City Center Mixed-Use that would be applied to the Burbank Town Ce nter, and Civic Center Housing Element/Specific Plan Redevelopment sites; this allows a maximum residential density of 110 dwelling units per acre and an FAR of 2.5.
Furthermore, the existing Downtown Commercial land use designation would be renamed to Downtown Mixed-Use, which would be applied to additional properties. The South San Fernando Commercial land use designation would be renamed to San Fernando Mixed Use and would be applied to additional properties located along North San Fernando Boulevard, thereby increasing the residential development potential of those properties from 27 dwelling units per acre to 43 dwelling units per acre and an increase in FAR from
1.0 to 1.25. Instituting these changes to the Burbank2035 General Plan Land Use Designations would ensure a no net loss of residential development consistent with state law. A table that shows the existing and proposed land use designations with density and FAR, and maps, which illustrate within the Specific Plan Area where these changes will be applied is provided in Attachment 3.
Working off the amendments to the Burbank2035 General Plan Land Use assumptions described above, staff and the Consultant team revised the Specific Plan development potential that led to the creation of three land use alternatives being studied in the Program EIR. These alternatives are: (1) the Preferred Project; (2) the Increased Growth; (3) and the No Growth. The next section of this report provides discussion on each of these alternatives.
Preferred Project Development Potential
The revised development potential that will be studied in the Program EIR as the “Preferred Project” reflects the pr oposed Burbank2035 General Plan Amendments discussed in the previous section and considers all the feedback received from the City Council, Community, City staff and key stakeholders. Furthermore, it is consistent with the City Council Goal to facilitate the production of 12,000 new dwelling units citywide by the year 2035. It is also consistent with the adopted 2021- 2029 Housing Element, and helps the City meet its Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirement of providing 8,772 housing units over the next eight years. Attachment 4 contains maps that show projects that are currently under construction in the Specific Plan a rea, referred to as “Pipeline Projects”, and sites that have been identified as “ Housing El ement Opportunity Sites ” and “Specific Plan Redevelopment Sites”. These are sites that are currently occupied with single-story buildings and/or underperforming uses, that have the greatest potential to accommodate the infill of housing within the Specific Plan’s 15-year planning horizon.
The residential development potential for the Opportunity Sites was calculated by multiplying the site acreage of each applicable Opportunity Site by the maximum density allowed by the General Plan as applied to the revised land use designations shown in the General Plan Land Use Designation Adjustment Table in Attachment 3 . I t is assumed that the full commercial FAR allowed by the General Plan for each site generally will not be achieved. Based on existing market conditions and recent project applications, most 6 sites are anticipated to develop at 33% of the allowed commercial FAR. However, Opportunity Sites located within the new City Center Mixed-Use land use designation will be analyzed at 100% of FAR potential so the City can understand the effect of a full buildout and plan accordingly.
Furthermore, based on continued en gagement with property owners, developers, and other stakeholders, the General Plan’s TOD or Exceptional Project Density Bonus of a maximum of a 25% increase in density was applied to all properties within both the Housing Element and Specific Plan Redevel opment Opportunity Sites. The following table shows the Preferred Project development potential for the Specific Plan Area:
A map showing the Housing Element Opportunity and Specific Plan Redevelopment Sites is provided in Attachment 4.
EIR Increased Growth Alternative
While work on the Specific Plan has progressed since 2020, several state laws have passed to streamline the development of housing, including the State Density Bonus Program, which allows developers the ability to exceed the base densities established in the Burbank2035 General Plan by up to 50%, in exchange for the development of affordable housing. The Increased Growth Alternative (IGA) will study additional growth beyond the Preferred Project development potential which includes the maximum 50% State Density Bonus Law density increase applied to all Housing Element Opportunity Sites and Specific Plan Redevelopment Sites on top of the Preferred Project densities.
Furthermore, additional infill sites with base density plus the maximum 50% State Density Bonus Law density increase are included to the IGA development potential. The IGA will be analyzed to the same level as the Preferred Project in the EIR.
The purpose of the EIR’s comprehensive review of the Increased Growth Alternative is to ensure that potential density increase result ing from a developer-initiated density bonus under state law is sufficiently analyzed to inform the public and decision makers of an y potential significant adverse impacts to the City’s utility infrastructure. Lastly, this analysis will also help establish future policy and work plan considerations to facilitate upgrades to City infrastructure to keep pace with projected development . The analysis also helps to ensure that all development addresses their fair share impacts to the City’s infrastructure inclusive of the construction of needed upgrades to serve individual projects and the payment of associated development impact fees (General Plan Land Use
7 Element Goal No. 2: Sustainability, Policy No. 2.3). The following table shows the Increased Growth Alternative development potential for the Specific Plan Area:
A map showing the Housing Element Opportunity , Specific Plan Redevelopment , and Additional Infill Sites is provided in Attachment 5.
EIR No Project Alternative
This alternative assumes no specific plan project and assumes the build- out of Housing Element Opportunity Sites as described in the adopted Housing Element and the existing Burbank2035 General Plan Development Potential as noted in Land Use Element Table LU-2. This alternative will be studied in the Program EIR. The following table shows the No Project Alternative development potential for the Specific Plan Area:
A map showing the Housing Element Opportunity Sites is provided in Attachment 6 and the Burbank2035 General Plan Land Use Element Table LU-2 is provided in Attachment
7. Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan – Next Steps
A new NOP will be prepared and released for public review in April 2023 that reflects the development potential presented within this report. A combination EIR Scoping Meeting and Project Update will be presented in a Community Meeting following the release of the NOP. Staff and the Consultant team will continue to work on the completion of a draft of
8 the Specific Plan and Program EIR with anticipated release of both for public review by Fall 2023. Additional Community Workshops, presentations to the various Burbank Boards, Commissions, and Committees, and key stakeholder meetings will be held leading up to the release of the draft documents and during the review of the documents.
Staff anticipates both the Specific Plan and EIR will be brought to the Council for review and consideration of approval in Winter 2024.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
This Report has no potential for resulting in a direct or indirect physical change to the environment and falls outside the definition of a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA ) and is therefore not subject to CEQA pursuant to Section 15378 of Title 14 of the California Code of Regulations. This staff report is for informational purposes only about the Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan and associated General Plan Amendment.
However, the Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan Project is subject to CEQA. To fulfil the requirements of CEQA, a Program EIR is being prepared. A Program EIR is an EIR, which may be prepared on a series of actions that can be characterized as one large project and are related either: (1) Geographically, (2) As logical parts in the chain of contemplated actions, (3) In connection with issuance of rules, regulations, plans, or other general criteria to govern the conduct of a continuing program, or (4) As individual activities carried out under the same authorizing statutory or regulatory authority and having generally similar environmental effects that can be mitigated in similar ways. A specific plan is an ideal type of project for which a Program EIR is appropriate.
A Program EIR also has several strategic advantages. The Program EIR can: (1) Provide an occasion for a more exhaustive consideration of effects and alternatives than would be practical in an EIR on an individual action; (2) Ensure co nsideration of cumulative impacts that would not normally be reviewed on a case-by-case analysis; (3) Avoid duplicative reconsideration of basic policy considerations ; (4) Allow the lead agency to consider broad policy alternatives and program wide mitigation measures at an early time when the agency has greater flexibility to deal with basic problems or cumulative impacts; and (5) Allow reduction in paperwork and a more streamlined review of future projects that are consistent with the EIR.
As part of the Program EIR, a comprehensive study of the utility infrastructure that serves the Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan will be prepared to ensure that appropriate policy and planning strategies are established so that the anticipated future growth within the Specific Plan area is adequately served by critical utility services.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to receiving the information contained in this report. As noted previously, City staff applied for and was awarded $310,000 in State SB 2 Planning Grant Program funds and $410,000 from Metro under the TOD Planning Grant Program. Funds are available in the current Fiscal Year 2022- 2023 Budget in account number 001.CD31A.62085.0000.23217 (General Fund, Community Development – Planning Division, Other Professional Services, Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan) to cover the remaining approved project budget of $6 53,500. Any future request to amend the 9 scope of the project and/or increase the budget would be brought for City Council consideration.
CONCLUSION
The Specific Plan presents an opportunity for the City to plan in a manner that leverages resources in Downtown Burbank to meet the City’s short- and long-term planning efforts, which include ensuring compliance with state housing and land use regulations, City Council housing and neighborhood protection goals, while also preserving as much local control in the land use planning process as possible. Consistent with these goals, staff is seeking policy direction and input from the City Council on the Development Potential for the Plan area. Future progress reports and study sessions will be provided to City Council throughout the remainder of the project. Completion of the Specific Plan helps to facilitate the collaborative process between staff, the community, and the City Council through which we aim to facilitate a shared vision for the larger downtown planning area as we work together for a safe, beautiful, and thriving community.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Downtown Burbank TOD Specific Plan Boundary Map Attachment 2 – Vision and Guiding Principles
Attachment 3 – Burbank2035 General Plan Land Use Adjustments Attachment 4 – Preferred Project Development Potential Map Attachment 5 – Increased Growth Alternative Development Potential Map Attachment 6 – No Project Alternative Development Potential Map Attachment 7 – Burbank2035 General Plan Land Use Table LU-2