1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: February 27, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director VIA: David Kriske, Asst. Community Development Director – Transportation BY: Marcos Fuentes, Senior Transportation Planner
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Amend ing the Citywide Objective Development Standards, Chapter 1: Complete Streets Objective Development Standards to Extend its Applicability to Public Transit Projects and Make Changes to the Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Equestrian Sections
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMENDING CHAPTER 1 (COMPLETE STREETS OBJECTIVE DEVELOPMEN T STANDARDS) OF
THE CITYWIDE OBJECTIVE DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, AND DECLARING CATEGORICAL EXEMPTION UNDER CEQA (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND
On Ju ne 27, 2023, the City Council (Council) adopted the first chapter of the City’s Objective Design and Development Standards which established the Complete Streets Objective Development Standards (CSODS). On August 22, 2023, the Council approved the first amendment to the CSODS consisting of updates to Section 4.1, “Bicycle Parking Standards” and Section 5, “Equestrian Improvements.” During the last eight months, staff tested and applied CSODS on a variety of discretionary and ministerial projects, including one project invoking Senate Bill (SB) 35 streamlined review process, as well as several discretionary projects that have enabled a wider application of the policies adopted in the City’s Complete Our Streets Plan. Through this assessment period, staff has identified several changes needed to make the objective standards more effective and predictable in their application to all stakeholders. Staff recommends that Council adopt this Resolution to amend the CSODS and make necessary changes that will refine the standards in the document and ensure responsible development throughout the City.
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 DISCUSSION
Council adopted CSODS with the goals of allowing the community and decision makers to identify key design concepts for refinement or inclusion in development standards , maintaining local control, protect ing residential neighborhoods, and aligning new developments with the Burbank2035 General Plan's Mobi lity Element and the Complete Streets Plan for multimodal transportation safety. As such, periodic and strategic revisions to the CSODS are and will remain necessary to continue to achieve those goals.
The following is a list of the proposed amendments to the CSODS:
1. Applicability of CSODS to Public Transit Projects (Section 1.3) The new language expands the applicability of CSODS from mainly focusing on residential and non-residential projects to applying to any new mass public transit project within City right -of-way. This may include projects such as Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) systems, commuter rail projects, heavy rail project, and/or light rail projects.
Because of the transformative scale of mass public transit projects and their need to travel on City right-of-way, these projects may offer opportunities to improve street safety, encourage transit ridership, implement the City’s Complete Streets Plan, and improve first/last mile connectivity by requiring construction of street improvements around each new station.
Through this new language, any new mass public t ransit projects, such as the North Hollywood to Pasadena BRT (expected to open sometime in 2027), may be subject to CSODS along streets adjacent to and serving each station. Required improvements could include wider sidewalks, upgraded crosswalks, new curb extensions, signalized pedestrian crossings, and other improvements prescribed in the CSODS, similar to how CSODS is currently applied to other developments.
New or changes to bus routes , bus stops, and/or changes in services would be excluded from this subsection . As part of its negotiations with Metro, the City is requesting that the BRT project be subject to CSODS.
2. Changes to Definitions (Sections 1.4)
In addition to adding public transit projects as projects that may be subject to CSODS, staff is proposing several technical changes to CSODS to clarify how the City’s Complete Streets Plan applies to various development project scenarios.
These changes do not add new components or requirements to CSODS ; instead they provide clarification regarding how various requirements would apply to projects based on the experience staff has gained in implementing CSODS over the last six months.
3 The first technical change to the CSODS are m odifications to the D efinitions section involving the following:
• Revision of the definition of "Affected Streets" for public transit projects to encompass the previously mentioned added section.
• Redefinition of "Block or Block Face,” now pursuant to BMC 7-3-901, to better reflect the intent and applicability of these standards in relation to the city block they are located.
3. Changes to Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Equestrian Standards (Sections 2 – 5) The subsequent proposed technical changes address specific standards related to sidewalks, curbs, pedestrian crossings, and bicycle facilities:
• Sidewalk width standard - changes include a revision of dimensions to align with the Burbank2035 General Plan, Mobility Element and exclusions for residential projects with four or fewer dwelling units in all zoning allowing residential land uses would now apply across all the standards in the document.
• Adjustments in bicycle parking space requirements and the addition of standards for long-term bicycle parking – this will contribute to a more nuanced approach applicable to non-residential land use projects. • Revisions to bicycle fac ilities that involve limiting the application of bikeway standards only to projects on Bicycle Priority Streets with existing Class II or in- street Class IV bike lanes to ensure that bike facilities are built evenly throughout the City’s right-of-way.
• Sidewalk dimensions for Bicycle Priority Streets were revised to be concurrent with the Burbank2035 General Plan sidewalk width standards. • Minor changes to the equestrian standards involved specifying applicable parkway width for streets that are both Bicycl e Priority and Equestrian Priority Streets, reorganizing standard requirements, and addressing typographical errors throughout the document.
A more detailed summary of the proposed changes is included (Attachment 2), as well as a full redline of the proposed modifications (Attachment 3).
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
In line with Council’s goal to expand community engagement, staff carried out several community outreach events and gathered public input when developing the Complete Our Streets Plan goals and policies , and CSODS are the standards by which that plan has been implemented. Additionally, the purpose of most of the proposed changes is to clarify how CSODS applies to projects, based on staff’s experience over the past several months. As the standards continue to be refined, staff will provide the Transportation Commission with updates on how CSODS has been implementing Complete Streets improvements as part of private development.
4 ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
The proposed Resolution is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c) as the proposed regulations relate to minor alterations of existing streets and sidewalks, and potential additions of bicycle paths and equestrian bridle paths, that involve negligible expansion of use and do not create additional automobile lanes. There are no unusual circumstances that would preclude the use of this exemption. Adoption of the proposed Resolution is further exempt from CEQA pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that this action will have a significant effect on the environment.
All projects for which the proposed Resolution will apply will undergo their own independent CEQA review for which any environmental impacts for the individual projects will be identified.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact to adopting the proposed Resolution amending the Citywide Objective Design and Development Standards. The proposed amendments would make minor corrections to standards previously adopted by the Council.
CONCLUSION
The CSODS set a framework for staff and applicants to work together to build a safe, beautiful, and thriving community through the City’s Objective Design and Development Standards that can be applied to housing development projects, including projects subject to State mandated streamlined ministerial review processes, that currently do not fully implement the City’s General Plan Mobility Element complete streets goals and policies.
The proposed c hanges and recommended amendment to the CSODS are part of the periodic review process of these objective development standards and reflective of the City’s commitment to ensure that standards continue to be refined to meet their intended goals. Adoption of the proposed Resolution would expand the applicability of CSODS to mass public transit projects and make several updates to the Pedestrian, Bicycle, and Equestrian sections.
ATTACHMENT
Attachment 1 – Resolution
Attachment 2 – CSODS List of Proposed Changes
Attachment 3 – Amended CSODS with Redlines