1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: November 7, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director
VIA: David L. Kriske, Assistant Community Development Director BY: Marcos Fuentes, Senior Transportation Planner
SUBJECT: Update on the Golden State Neighborhood Protection Plan and Approval of an Amendment to Fiscal Year 2023 – 2024 Development Impact Fees Budget to Fund Development of the Golden State Neighborhood Protection Plan
RECOMMENDATION
1. Direct Staff to prepare a Golden State Neighborhood Protection Plan in response to new residential housing developments in the Golden State area.
2. Amend the Fiscal Year 2023– 2024 Budget in the amount of $250,000 to appropriate funds received from the Avion Development Project to fund the plan’s preparation.
BACKGROUND
Neighborhood Protection Plans (NPPs) are a strategy established by the Burbank2035 General Plan for preserving livability of neighborhoods. The objective of NPPs is to discourage cut-through and spill over traffic and reduce demands on residential on-street parking by developing a series of tailored street improvements and traffic programs to reduce impacts from adjacent development projects that may increase traffic congestion or reduce parking supply in residential neighborhoods. To achieve this, NPPs employ treatments like speed humps, narrow streets, roadway medians, turn prohibitions, and preferential or limited- term parking programs. To date, NPPs have been successfully implemented throughout the City as a method to protect neighborhoods and preserve quality of life by managing traffic patterns in a specific geographic area (Attachment 1).
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 In November 2022, following concerns raised by residents in the Golden State neighborhood near Empire Avenue, the City Council asked staff to prepare a first step report for creating a neighborhood protection plan to address potential impacts from new residential development. This NPP effort would be developed concurrently with the preparation of the upcoming Golden State Specific Plan (GSSP).
In April 2023, staff delivered the first step report in conjunction with an update on the GSSP. The report offered a broad summary of the connection between the possible impacts stemming from existing and anticipated development in the GSSP area and how a new NPP could mitigate those impacts to the existing neighborhood. It also described the purpose NPPs serve, their development process, examples of treatments implemented in previous NPPs, and potential boundaries for the new Golden State NPP (Attachment 2). At the April 2023 meeting, Council directed staff to return with a second step report with more details on the development of a new NPP, including preparation timeline, funding source, and cost estimate.
DISCUSSION
Consistency with Burbank2035
The Burbank2035 General Plan prioritizes neighborhood protection as one of the Goals of the City’s Mobility Element priorities. Goal #6 of the General Plan Mobility Element states that, “Burbank’s transportation infrastructure minimizes cut -through traffi c in residential and commercial neighborhoods to maintain neighborhood quality of life.” This includes a priority to maintain arterial street efficiency to discourage spillover traffic and to pursue comprehensive neighborhood protection programs to avoid diverting unwanted traffic onto adjacent streets. Therefore, the preparation of a new Golden State NPP would be consistent with the Burbank2035 General Plan.
There are three policies identified that support this goal to protect neighborhoods from cut-through traffic:
Policy 6.1 – Maintain arterial street efficiency to discourage spillover traffic into residential neighborhoods.
Policy 6.2 – Consider reconfiguring travel lanes and introducing reduced speed limits as part of comprehensive efforts to calm traffic.
Policy 6.3 – Pursue comprehensive neighborhood protection programs to avoid diverting unwanted traffic to adjacent streets and neighborhoods.
Nexus to GSSP
The proposed GSSP is one of three specific plans currently under preparation, along with the Downtown Transit Oriented District Specific Plan for the City’s Downtown area and the Media District Specific Update Plan for the Media District. The proposed GSSP forecasts additional residential growth to help the City meet its housing production goals, 3 and new commercial growth to support these new housing opportunities. In addition to future development identified in the GSSP, there are several proposed and entitled residential projects where residents have expressed concerns about impacts to traffic and parking conditions. Some of these developments include the recently approved redevelopment of the former Fry’s Site at 2311 North Hollywood Way, with a total of 862 residential units and 151,800 square-feet of office, the recently approved Senate Bill (SB) 35 project located at 2814 Empire Avenue (148 units), and two proposed SB 35 projects proposed at 3000 Empire Avenue (340 units) and 3001 Empire Avenue (131 units).
In the face of rapid development accelerated in part by recent state legislation aimed to address the state’s housing supply shortage, introducing a new NPP in this area would allow the City to assess existing conditions to develop programmatic measures that protect residential neighborhoods, while also ensuring that the City meet its housing goals and Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) requirements consistent with the Burbank2035 General Plan’s goals and policies for protecting residential neighborhoods and maintaining quality of life.
Need for a New Golden State NPP
The proposed GSSP area is generally bounded by the Hollywood-Burbank Airport on the west, Cohasset Street and Interstate 5 to the north, Buena Vista Street to the east, Vanowen Street and Pacific Avenue to the south (Attachment 3). Future development in this area could result in traffic and parking impacts to residential streets north of Empire Avenue and south of San Fernando Boulevard, the small neighborhood east of Buena Vista Street, and the larger residential neighborhood south of Vanowen Street and North of Victory Boulevard. Residential streets in these areas could be left exposed to possible traffic and parking impacts that would be more effectively addressed in a programmatic fashion through the development of a new NPP.
At present, there is no NPP that appropriately encompasses the geographical area that comprises the neighborhoods under consideration. When the Burbank2035 General Plan was adopted in 2013, it established the Empire Center and Magnolia Park NPPs .
However, neither of their boundaries provide the necessary extent to cover residential streets that could be affected by future development from the GSSP. For example, the Magnolia Park NPP stretches from the City’s Media District along Verdugo Avenue to the City’s western bo undary, east to Buena Vista Street, and up to Vanowen Street.
Meanwhile, the Empire Center NPP only covers an area of approximately four City blocks between Empire Avenue to the south, Thornton Avenue to the North, Buena Vista Street to the West, and Lincoln Street to the East.
Example of tools used in NPPs
Preparation of the Golden State NPP would involve following a similar process as other NPPs to build on the success of previous NPPs. As prescribed by the Burbank2035 4 General Plan, the proposed Golden S tate NPP would evaluate and use a variety of methods to discourage cut ‐through traffic, reduce vehicle speed, and limit overflow parking onto residential streets, including but not limited to:
• Strategic street closures through the use of cul-de-sacs • Installation of traffic diverters or medians
• Speed humps to slow vehicular speeds and improve pedestrian safety • Traffic circles/roundabouts to improve safety at street intersections • Speed limit reductions
• Curb bulb- outs/extensions to reduce vehicular speeds, improve pedestrian visibility, and decrease pedestrian crossing distance
• On-street parking management via time restrictions and permit parking
To assess current conditions, a traffic study would be conducted to collect traffic counts and speed surveys on all residential streets within the geographic boundaries previously mentioned. The findings from the traffic study would evaluate existing conditions of vehicular traffic volumes and speeds, parking utilization, and presence of cut -through traffic, and would forecast the potential increased traffic and parking demand caused by entitled and planned development. This analysis would then be used to determine which treatments would be most appropriate to implement throughout the neighborhood.
Development Timeline
The following is an estimated timeline of the NPP development should Council direct staff to commence with a new NPP for the Golden State Neighborhood and allocate funds needed for this effort:
1. Winter 2023 – Hire consultant to conduct data collection and analysis.
2. Spring 2024 – Conduct data collection and analysis.
3. Summer to Fall 2024 – Community outreach.
4. Fall to Winter 2024 – Environmental assessment and determination.
5. Spring 2025 – NPP completion and City Council approval.
The result of an adopted Golden State NPP will be a map of residential streets and neighborhoods that are impacted (or expected to be impacted) by cut -through traffic or parking intrusion caused by new development, and a li st of traffic improvements and parking programs, vetted by the community, that will be able to offset those impacts, along with a cost estimate for their construction. Council will then be able to prioritize funding and construction of these improvements as part of its ongoing Capital Improvement Program.
Next Steps
5 Should the Council wish to proceed with the preparation of a new Golden State NPP, staff recommends that the Community Development Department lead this effort, in collaboration with the Public Works Department. In addition, staff recommends that the Council direct staff to procure transportation planning, traffic engineering, and public outreach consultant services to perform the necessary data collection, analysis, outreach, and environmental services necessary to develop the plan update. As part of the plan development, improvement costs can also be identified and evaluated to determine a total cost to implement the identified measures. Staff estimates that the cost to prepare an updated neighborhood protection plan could be approximately $250,000. This cost does not include the design and construction of any improvements identified in the plan and does not include the ongoing maintenance associated with any constructed improvements.
The Council has several funding sources available to fund neighborhood protection. The City has secured funding that must be used to implement neighborhood protection plans and measures within and adjacent to the proposed Golden State NPP project area as part of recent development projects. The City also anticipates receiving additional funding through upcoming projects that may be used for neighborhood protection plan efforts, including the Golden State NPP:
Table 1: Available and Planned Funding for Golden State NPP Funding Amount Project Funding Status
$250,000 Avion Development Project Project is complete, funds are available $250,000 Former Fry’s Site Project is approved, funds r eceived when building permits issued
$100,000 2814 Empire Avenue
(Voluntary Contribution)
Project is approved.
40% funds received when Certificate of
Occupancy (COO) issued
60% funds received at 3 years of occupancy
$100,000 3000 Empire Avenue
(Voluntary Contribution)
Project application under review.
40% funds received when COO issued
60% funds received at 3 years of occupancy
$100,000 3001 Empire Avenue
(Voluntary Contribution)
Project application under review.
40% funds received when COO issued
60% funds received at 3 years of occupancy
$800,000 Total
This funding for NPP development from entitled and planned development projects is in addition to the Transportation Development Impact Fees which are assessed on all new development and can be used on a variety of transportation improvements including neighborhood protection plan improvements. Funding for neighborhood protection has already been received as a condition of approval from the Avion Development Project, and staff proposes to use this funding to prepare the Golden State NPP.
6 As outlined above, preparation of a new Golden State NPP would take a little over one year. As part of this process, staff will need to complete an environmental review evaluating the significance of any potential impacts to the environment related to the future implementation of the new NPP pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The resulting environmental determination will require the Council’s approval. Lastly, adoption of the Golden State NPP would require an amendment to the City’s General plan to add the new NPP area and adjust the boundaries of the existing Magnolia Park and Empire Center NPPs (Attachment 4).
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This Staff Report has no potential for resulting in a direct or reasonably foreseeable 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 regarding the possible preparation of a new NPP in the City. If the Council directs staff to begin development a new NPP, adoption of a final NPP will be preceded by required environmental analysis pursuant to CEQA.
FISCAL IMPACT
Should Council choose to update the Golden State NPP, staff recommends the Council amend the FY 2023 – 2024 Budget . Currently, $ 250,000 is held in deposit account 001.ND000.21040.0000 (General Fund, Non- Departmental). These funds will to be appropriated to a revenue account 001.CD0000.51000.1000 (General Fund, CD General, Zoning Fees and Subdivision). The available $250,000, will have to be contributed from the General Fund revenue account to the project expense account 127.CD33A.70002.0000.24908 (Public Improvement s, Transportation, Street Improvements, Golden State Neighborhood Protection Plan) . The funds would be used to secure the required consultant services necessary to initiate the project.
CONCLUSION
In response to resident concerns over increased traffic and parking demand in the Golden State neighborhood, staff recommends that Council approve commencing preparation of a new Golden State NPP to protect this neighborhood from cut-through traffic, especially from future development as part of the GSSP. Neighborhood protection plans are recommended by the Burbank2035 General Plan as a method to protect neighborhoods and preserve quality of life. They are best implemented comprehensively, as the traffic engineering measures used to address cut-through traffic can have secondary effects on nearby streets if implemented in a piecemeal fashion. Moreover, d evelopment of a new NPP in concert with final development of the GSSP would allow the City to get ahead of potential traffic and parking issues from new development in the Golden State area and respond to the immediate concerns of residents concerned about impacts from projects already planned in the area.
7 ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – Burbank2035 General Plan, Exhibit M-5, Neighborhood Protection Programs
Attachment 2 – Map of Proposed Golden State Neighborhood Protection Plan Attachment 3 – Map of the Golden State Specific Plan Area Attachment 4 – Map of Proposed Amended Magnolia Park and Empire Center NPPs