In the wake of the council's ultimate denial of that project in March, there were calls for instituting special protections for the Rancho area in order to limit future development that might compromise the neighborhood's unique character.
Many residents contended that the protections of the 1993 Rancho Master Plan were inadvertently superseded by a zone text amendment in 1998 that was meant to simplify and consolidate a list of land-use designations. That amendment combined the definition of a food retail store to include both a "food market" and a "food specialty store," leaving details such as the allowable size and scope of a potential project up to interpretation.
Rather than wrangle over what constitutes a food specialty store, and whether that should be an allowable usage, the council opted to subject any grocery-related proposal to a conditional permitting process.
In doing so, a proposal could be analyzed in terms of its impact on traffic and safety in the proposed area, Vice Mayor Dave Golonski said.
"That's the road to eventual solution and, fortunately, I think that's the solution we're going toward on a city-wide basis with the revision of the general plan," he said.
Requiring grocery store proposals to go through the conditional-use permit process will serve as an interim development standard in the Rancho District as city planning staffers continue to update the general land-use plan, which sets a blueprint for development citywide.
Mayor Marsha Ramos and Councilman David Gordon, who voted against the motion, favored a complete moratorium on proposals for grocery-store usage while planning staffers update the land-use plan.
Putting a conditional-use permit requirement on potential development in the Rancho District could leave open the possibility that the council would be amenable to a project that may not sit well with some residents, Gordon said.
"That doesn't give the kind of protection the people in the community hope for and thought was previously there with the Rancho master plan," he said.
QUESTION
What do you think of the City Council's decision to require proposals for grocery store projects to go through a conditional-use permitting process? E-mail your responses to burbankleader @latimes.com; mail them to the Burbank Leader, 221 N. Brand Blvd., 2nd Floor, Glendale CA, 91203. Please include your name and address and phone number for verification purposes only.
CHRIS WIEBE covers City Hall and the courts. He may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at chris.wiebelatimes.com.
