1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: October 29, 2024
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Kimberley Clark, City Clerk
SUBJECT: Adoption of a Resolution Requesting the Local Agency Formation Commission for the County of Los Angeles to Initiate Proceedings for Reorganization to include Annexation to the City of Burbank and Concurrent Detachment from the City of Glendale of the Subject Properties (600, 606, 612, 616, 622, 626, 630, 632, 638, 700, 704, 710, 718, 722, 728, 730, and 740 Roselli Street) and Directing Staff to Process Documents as Necessary to Effectuate Same
RECOMMENDATION
Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK: 1)
REQUESTING THE LOCAL AGENCY FORMATION COMMISSION FOR THE COUNTY
OF LOS ANGELES (LAFCO) TO INITIATE PROCEEDINGS FOR REORGANIZATION
TO INCLUDE ANNEXATION TO THE CITY OF BURBANK AND CONCURRENT
DETACHMENT OF THE SUBJECT PROPERTIES FROM THE CITY OF GLENDALE, AND 2) DIRECTING STAFF TO PROCESS DOCUMENTS AS NECESSARY TO EFFECTUATE SAME.
BACKGROUND
During the November 2022 election, the Burbank City Clerk’s Office became aware that residents living on the even numbered side of the 600 and 700 blocks of Roselli Street (“Roselli Street Properties”) in Burbank did not receive mail -in ballots containing the Burbank election contests for City Council, City Clerk, City Treasurer, and Burbank Unified School Board. The City Clerk’s Office further became aware that this occurred because the precinct boundary for these addresses was changed during the 2021 redistricting, with this boundary bisecting the Roselli Street Properties. There are 1 7 properties that are affected by the bisecting of the City of Burbank/City of Glendale jurisdictional lines. These properties are included as Exhibit s A and B of the attached CITY CLERK’S
OFFICE
2 Resolution (Attachment 1) and are referred to as the Subject Properties. Due to this, the property tax paid on the Subject Properties is credited to the City of Glendale, even though the residents live in the City of Burbank, have their frontage on Burbank streets, and receive Burbank services. The city in which residents pay their property taxes determines which ballots they receive. Therefore, the residents of the Subject Properties currently receive City of Glendale ballots, and not City of Burbank ballots.
DISCUSSION
The boundary between the City of Burbank and the City of Glendale bisects the Subject Properties, leaving approximately 10 feet of the Subject Properties in the City of Glendale, while the remainder of the parcels of the Subject Properties are located within the City of Burbank. The application to the Los Angeles Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) is to correct the bisecting boundary so that the 17 Subject Properties fall within the City of Burbank’s jurisdiction.
After consultation with and agreement from the City of Glendale, the City of Burbank has begun the process to re-draw property boundaries for the Roselli Street Properties for tax and voting purposes, and to realign the property boundaries so that they are not bisected by the two cities. Alex Olvera, Division Manager of Election Information and Preparation, Los Angeles County Registrar -Recorder/County Clerk, indicated that the County would implement whatever solution the cities of Glendale and Burbank agree to for this type of rare bisecting boundary.
The City Clerk is requesting that Council apply to LAFCO to correct the boundary.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
The proposed annexation is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to California State Regulations, 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15061(b)(3), common sense exemption, because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the annexation and concurrent detachment may have a significant effect on the environment.
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
The City Clerk conducted multiple outreach efforts. A letter was mailed to Roselli Street Properties residents in February 2024 explaining the situation and advising them that their March 2024 Primary Election ballots were not affected and could be utilized as normal.
An updated letter was mailed in August 2024 advising these residents that the situation would not be rectified in time for them to vote in the November 2024 General Election for the two Burbank City Council seats or cast a vote for or against the Burbank Unified School District’s ABC bond extension. The City Clerk placed telephone calls to all households and contact was made with the majority of the residents, all of whom indicated agreement with our efforts and their desire to resume receiving ballots containing Burbank 3 races and measures. In October 2024, consent letters were mailed to the owners of the Subject Properties asking for them to sign and return the letters to the City Clerk’s Office.
FISCAL IMPACT
The City Clerk’s Office estimates that the cost of completing this annexation project to be $50,000, comprised of legal fees, LAFCO application fees, community outreach, etc., with the funding coming from the City Clerk’s Office, City Attorney’s Office, and Community Development Department. These costs are anticipated to be recovered over time in the form of increased property tax revenue; as an example, this would amount to approximately $24,000 for Fiscal Year 2024-25 in tax revenue returned to the City.
CONCLUSION
It is important that the bisecting boundary between the cities of Burbank and Glendale be corrected to ensure equity for both City of Burbank and City of Glendale residents. To do so, the City of Burbank must submit an application for LAFCO to initiate proceedings to annex the back approximate 10 feet of the Subject Properties into the City of Burbank, as well as detach the approximate 10 feet of the Subject Properties from the City of Glendale.
To gain consensus with the City of Glendale, the Burbank City Clerk initiated communication with the City Clerk and City Manager of Glendale to apprise them of the need to correct the boundary issue as it was affecting the residents’ voting rights.
Glendale’s City Manager confirmed Glendale’s cooperation to correct the boundary lines, enabling the City of Burbank to move forward with the annexation process for the Subject Properties.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Resolution