1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: March 19, 2024
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Patrick Prescott, Community Development Director Ken Berkman, Public Works Director
VIA: David Kriske, Asst. Community Development Director, Transportation BY: Nick Burant, Administrative Analyst II
Angelica Gonzales, Parking Analyst
Karen Pan, Transportation Services Manager
SUBJECT: Introduction of an Ordinance Amending Title 2 (Administration) and Title 6 (Motor Vehicles and Traffic) of the Burbank Municipal Code to Transition Parking Management to the Community Development Director and Oversight to the Transportation Commission
RECOMMENDATION
Introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMENDING TITLE 2 (ADMINISTRATION) AND TITLE 6 (MOTOR VEHICLES AND
TRAFFIC) OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO PARKING MANAGEMENT IN BURBANK (Attachment 1).
BACKGROUND
Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) Title 2, Chapter 1, Article 4, Division 2 relates to the composition and functions of Boards, Commissions, and Committees . The City’s Traffic Commission was the initial advisory body to Council on matters related to traffic and parking within the City. In 2019, the Traffic Commission was disbanded, and its powers and duties were split among the Transportation Commission, Infrastructure Oversight Board (IOB), and City staff. The IOB was formed in conjunction with the voter -approved Infrastructure and Community Services Protection Transactions and Use Tax (Measure P), to provide oversight of revenues generated from Measure P and annually advise Council on infrastructure projects (BMC § 2-4-2 114). Upon the Traffic Commission’s
COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT
2 dissolution, the IOB was tasked with the Traffic Commission’s former role of advising Council on traffic programs and parking, and conducting certain hearings related to permit parking (BMC § § 2-1- 426; 6 -1-1003; 6 -1-1005). Similarly, certain Traffic Commission responsibilities were reassigned to the Transportation Commission, which was already tasked with many other duties, including making recommendations to Council on transportation plans and planning issues, the expenditure of transportation funds, and various policies and programs (BMC § 2-1-419). Despite being a transportation function, advising on parking manage ment policies is not included in the Transportation Commission’s duties. Traffic and parking are integral parts of transportation management within the City.
The BMC Title 6, Chapter 1 (Vehicles and Traffic) currently delegates the authority to manage parking in the p ublic Right -of-Way to the Public Works Director under the direction of the City Manager. This includes stopping, standing, and parking of vehicles; vehicle loading and unloading; and valet parking. This chapter of the BMC also implements the City’s permit parking programs. In July 2020, the City Manager delegated parking management duties from the Public Works Department to the Community Development Department (CDD) to align parking policy with how transportation planning and programs are implemented. Parking management is an important g oal in the Burbank2035 General Plan Mobility Element, and the CDD is tasked with implementing the General Plan’s transportation goals, policies, and programs . To ensure that parking management aligns with transportation goals and policies, staff is recommending that BMC Title 6, Chapter 1 be amended to reflect the CDD as the department responsible for the oversight of parking management.
DISCUSSION
Parking management, plans, policies, and programs are an extension of the current responsibilities of the Transportation Division within the CDD. Reassigning the City’s parking operations from Public Works to CDD allows the City to have greater consistency in developing and implementing parking plans and programs with the City’s broader transportation and land use policies . Part of this reorganization shifted two budget ed positions and the Parking Authority Fund to the CDD. These two budgeted positions assist with managing citywide residential parking permits, monthly and daily parking permits, large non-commercial vehicle permits, film crew parking, valet parking, parking lease agreements (maintenance and financials), and curb and signage requests . CDD staff is also implementing Council’s direction to prepare a Parking Management Plan for Downtown Burbank that will be presented to Council in the upcoming months.
There are three code sections in BMC Title 6 (Motor Vehicles and Traffic) that require updating to reflect th e organizational restructuring of parking management. These code 3 sections govern residential permit parking, commercial preferential parking, curb painting and time-limit parking, and valet parking. Certain parking management actions requir e State-Licensed Civil or Traffic Engineering reviews and therefore, analyses and approval will remain with the Public Works Department, in collaboration with the CDD. Additionally, actual implementation and maintenance of physical infrastructure elements (signs, curb painting, etc.) will remain with the Public Works Department.
The proposed BMC changes are also needed to properly align oversight of the City’s parking management program. One of the IOB’s traffic-related duties includes the public hearing process for residential and commercial preferential parking permits. Staff recommends transitioning that responsibility from the IOB to the Transportation Commission to align parking oversight with the other transportation oversight functions of the Transportation Commission. The Transportation Commission currently conducts public hearings to seek input and make recommendations on transit service changes, and moving permit parking hearings to the Transportation Commission would clarify to the community that the Transportation Commission provides oversight of all the City’s transportation programs. The proposed changes to the BMC (Attachment 1) include the amendments to Title 2 (transitioning parking management oversight to the Transportation Commission) and Title 6 (transitioning parking management to the CDD).
Staff is also recommending a minor edit to BMC 6-1- 1201 that would remove the clause “in no event shall more than one-half of the total curb length in any block be reserved for loading purposes.” The provision is outdated and does not apply uniformly throughout the City. For example, all passenger loading zones at schools throughout Burbank require more than half of the curb length on the block facing the school for efficient function and safety. This modification was finalized after the IOB and Transportation Commission review of changed to BMC Title 6, Chapter 1.
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Staff presented the proposed O rdinance at public meetings to the Transportation Commission on January 22, 2024 , and to the IOB on January 25, 2024. Both groups made a motion to recommend Council adopt the proposed ordinance. While no concerns were brought forth by either group , there were questions regarding the parking permit hearing and appeal process, Parking Authority fund, and the former Traffic Commission.
All questions were aimed at gaining a better understanding of the City’s organization and history of the Boards and Commissions.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
General administrative activities, including general policy and procedure making, that have no potential for resulting in a direct or reasonably foreseeable indirect physical 4 change to the environment , fall outside the definition of a “project” under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) (14 CCR §15378(b)) . This Or dinance realigns advisory duties regarding parking activities that will be presented to the City Council for a decision regarding organizational responsibilities and will not directly or indirectly result in any physical change to the environment. Therefore, no further environmental review is necessary.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact for this item.
CONCLUSION
Parking management, policy, plans, and programs have been functions of the CDD since July 2020. These changes were made to reflect the importance of integrating parking management with the City’s other transportation and land use goals and policies. The proposed Ordinance reflects the organizational staffing shift from the Public Works Director to the Community Development Director. The Ordinance also changes the advisory body responsibility for parking management from the IOB to the Transportation Commission, which integrates the oversight of parking with the City’s other transportation programs.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Proposed Ordinance
Attachment 2 – BMC Redline Changes to Ordinance