What To Watch In 2009

The sculpture for the city’s founder will be the second art installation in Burbank to bear his name. A 21-inch bronze bust of the former dentist by artist Rick Doray has sat outside the Burbank Public Library since 1978.

In March, city officials unveiled the revamped city street, with its 11 landscaped medians, 401 trees and 54 benches — touting the project as a rebirth for businesses in an area that had long lacked street improvements.

City may target bags, Styrofoam

Sustainability is expected to once again play a major role throughout Burbank this year, especially in an election year. Most candidates for City Council have said they plan to stress the need for greener building requirements and increased vigilance from residents as water continues to grow more scarce.

Park, Recreation and Community Services board Vice President Garen Yegparian said he would continue the council’s focus on greening the city, adding in November, “We need to do it in a way that is sustainable for the next century.”

Others have stressed the need for greater water conservation, and the council could enact a ban on plastic bags and Styrofoam this year.

But focusing on sustainability could take a back seat to the city’s increasingly tumultuous fiscal state. Assuming city officials do not increase the scope of development projects in Burbank, the city is likely to face a deficit of up to $7 million in financial year 2009-10, and state-funded projects could be tied up by the Legislature’s inability to agree on a balanced budget.

Night flight ban still up in the air

Almost immediately after the Burbank-Glendale- Pasadena Airport Authority presented its Part 161 study to eliminate flights from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m., the objections poured in.

Though officials in Burbank largely praised the draft study, residents and officials in Los Angeles, Van Nuys and other airports — including small business carriers at Bob Hope who would be affected — said the proposed shift in flights would be too burdensome to handle.

The study will surely make news again this year, but the direction in which it goes is anyone’s guess. The Federal Aviation Administration called on Bob Hope officials to conduct an environmental assessment based on projected noise and air quality impacts at other nearby airports.