1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: April 22, 2025
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
FROM: Kimberley Clark, City Clerk
BY: Maria Sanchez, Administrative Analyst I
SUBJECT: Appointment to Fill a Vacanc y on the Planning Commission for an Unexpired Term
RECOMMENDATION
Appoint one member to the Planning Commission to fill an unexpired term ending July 31, 2027.
BACKGROUND
All Board, Commission, and Committee (BCC) Members shall be appointed by a three- fifths (3/5) vote of all Council Members and serve without compensation from the City. No person shall serve on more than one BCC at the same time. Vacancies on a BCC occurring during the term of office shall be filled within 90 days from the date the vacancy occurs. Any person appointed to fill a vacancy shall hold office for the remainder of the unexpired term. In addition, all applicants must be electors of, and reside in, t he City of Burbank with the exception of three positions on the Burbank Cultural Arts and the Sustainable Burbank commissions, as established in Ordinance No. 16- 3,874 adopted February 9, 2016 (per Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) §§ 2-1-404, 2-1-405, 2-1-406, and 2-1-407).
Once a vacancy is established, the City Clerk advertises the vacancy for 30 days, accepts applications, and provides the applications received to Council for consideration.
Applicants have the option of applying for up to two BCCs, indicating their first and second choice.
The voting process established allows for each Council Member to vote as many times as there are vacancies on the BCC being considered; the applicants receiving a majority CITY CLERK’S
OFFICE
2 of the votes in the first round are either appointed or move into the second round, if necessary. The process continues for as many rounds as are necessary to attain the correct number of applicants to fill the vacancy(ies).
Planning Commission
The Planning Commission (originally Advisory City Planning Committee to the Board of Trustees and formerly the Planning Board) was established on January 30, 1923. On December 8, 1953, Council adopted Ordinance No. 1290, adding the Planning Commission to the BMC. As detailed in BMC § 2-1- 411, the Planning Commission is composed of five members and shall have and exercise all powers and duties granted to it by any provision or provisions of this code and shall also have and exercise any power and duties accr uing to it by § 215 of the Charter (“The City shall have the power to exercise any and all rights, powers and privileges previously or in the future established, granted or prescribed by the general laws of the state or by other lawful authority and shall have the power to act pursuant to procedure established by any law of the state unless a different procedure is required by this Charter or by ordinance.”).
DISCUSSION
On March 4, 2025, the City Clerk’s Office began advertising and accepting applications for one vacancy on the Planning Commission for an unexpired term ending July 31, 2027, created by the resignation of Commissioner Narek Mkrtoumian.
To obtain qualified candidates, a Notice of Vacancy was advertised through the following:
• City website
• City Council meeting announcements
• All social media platforms managed by the City Clerk’s Office • Press releases sent to the Burbank Leader and MyBurbank.com • Notices posted on the City Hall Bulletin Board
• Community groups and organizations
• Constant Contact Email Notification
The deadline to submit applications to the City Clerk’s Office was Friday, April 4, 2025, at 5:00 p.m. The City Clerk’s Office received a total of 13 applications for the Planning Commission: Mike Van Gorder, Kevin Masterson, Ronald Cwik, Greg Jackson, Jeanette Nguyen, Namrata Cooper, Anja Reinke, Toni Nancy Xiong, Lital Ganon, Michael Haddad, Ricardo Mendoza, Thomas Perez, and Armine Movsesyan. The applications are listed in order received.
Please note that applicants Lital Ganon and Ricardo Mendoza have also applied for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority (Airport Authority). If appointed to the 3 Planning Commission, these applicants’ names will be removed from consideration for the Airport Authority appointment, which is tentatively scheduled to be presented to the Council at the May 20, 2025, City Council Meeting.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment and, as such, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs § 15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact associated with this item.
CONCLUSION
The City and the community both realize substantial benefits from civic involvement.
Appointments to the boards, commissions, and committees help to encourage public participation in the governmental process and ensure Burbank residents have a voice.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Applications and Resumes
Attachment 2 – Burbank Municipal Code § 2-1-411