Parking Spaces

Jackson Bell Compact cars might have to make room for sport utility vehicles as City Council members moved Tuesday to increase the size of parking spaces in some neighborhoods. The council, after listening to the pros and cons of eliminating compact parking spaces during a public hearing, voted 5-0 to introduce an ordinance that will expand the parking spots. City officials are making the change because of the rise in popularity of bigger cars.

The following items will be discussed at Tuesday?s Burbank City Council meeting: ? The City Council will consider changes to the amount of parking spaces required at multifamily residential projects. ? The current Burbank Municipal Code requires that one guest parking space be provided for every five multifamily residential units. A change to the code would require such residential projects to provide one guest parking spot for every four units and no less than two guest parking spaces.

The dark green mesh fence that surrounds the pool at Verdugo Park belies a busy schedule of prep work before heavy construction on new facilities starts - a day that can't come soon enough for visitors grappling with the temporary loss of some parking. Sean Corrigan, the city engineer overseeing the project, said work currently includes “isolating utilities” in the upstairs recreation center - such as water lines - so the facility can remain open to the public. “As soon as that's complete, we will start knocking down walls,” Corrigan said.

At the Nov. 15 Airport Authority meeting, in an attempt to justify the Burbank City Council's plan to expand the airport by more than 20 acres and 3,000 parking spaces, airport attorney Larry Wiener, in describing an informational flier about the expansion and those Burbank citizens who are opposed to airport expansion without a vote of the people, used this simile: "The flier reminds me a little bit of the soldiers who...

Mark R. Madler Parking lot customers in Burbank will have to pay 1% more starting July 1, the City Council decided Tuesday night. While this will translate into pennies for customers, it is expected to bring in an additional $230,000 to the city's general fund. The council voted, 4-1, to raise the transient parking tax from 11% to 12%. Helping stem the city's budget woes was the primary motivator of support for the increase, Mayor Jef Vander Borght said.

MAGNOLIA PARK DISTRICT — If Zare Dermegerdichian cannot hold on to his tables and chairs, he said his Healthy Bites restaurant will close. “If they don’t let us keep them, I am 100% sure I would have to close the shop,” he said. “Most of our customers walk here and want a place to sit down and eat.” The 1,000-square-foot eatery on Magnolia Boulevard has for the last eight months been allowed to operate under a temporary exemption from a city requirement that restaurants with on-site dining provide 10 off-street parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of floor area.

Gary Moskowitz MEDIA DISTRICT NORTH -- To alleviate potential danger to a large flow of pedestrians on 3rd Street in Burbank, parking areas along the street -- which fronts Burbank High School -- have been modified. But Leslee De Roos, principal of Burbank High, is concerned that parents who drive their children to school are still dropping their children off and picking them up in the highly congested area. "It is a problem, because too many parents are dropping their children off on 3rd Street illegally, and people have been ticketed," De Roos said.

Burbank City Councilman Dave Golonski and Airport Authority President Charles Lombardo constantly remind us about protection the city of Burbank has in the PUC code. Whether the code "stopped airport expansion" is a matter for debate. PUC Section 21661.6 requires the Airport Authority, wishing to acquire land for the purpose of expanding or enlarging, to submit a plan of such expansion or enlargement to the Burbank City Council. Sub-section (c) requires the City Council to issue a notice and conduct a public hearing and thereafter approve or disapprove the plan.

Parking space swap violates city code Allowing parking spaces to be swapped from parking lot A to A-1 North (Star Parking) on the adjacent property should be summarily rejected. City of Burbank Resolution No. 17390 said no expansion shall take place without an exhaustive determination of their potentially adverse effect. Swapping parking spaces from one location to another is a cover-up. The collective agency called the city of Burbank chooses to ignore its own resolution.

DOWNTOWN BURBANK ? Anyone who has ever tried to squeeze into a compact parking space flanked by two SUVs, or driven somewhere in an SUV only to find compact spaces, the City Council has a solution: eliminating the pint-size spots. The council approved a new law Tuesday that does away with compact parking spaces in any new development. For real estate developers, striking compact parking provisions in commercial and industrial zones will likely result in added costs for new projects.

The dark green mesh fence that surrounds the pool at Verdugo Park belies a busy schedule of prep work before heavy construction on new facilities starts - a day that can't come soon enough for visitors grappling with the temporary loss of some parking. Sean Corrigan, the city engineer overseeing the project, said work currently includes “isolating utilities” in the upstairs recreation center - such as water lines - so the facility can remain open to the public. “As soon as that's complete, we will start knocking down walls,” Corrigan said.

A Los Angeles County Superior Court judge dismissed a case that could have required more hoops for a planned 24 Hour Fitness on West Empire Avenue. Burbank Athletic Club owner Greg Bedrossian and longtime city critic Mike Nolan sued in late June to block the city from allowing the 24 Hour Fitness Super Sport. They argued that the city failed to comply with its own review procedures and ignored potential parking problems related to the proposed gym. But Superior Court Judge Ann Jones dismissed those claims, finding that the pair's argument "grossly mischaracterizes the actual findings in the case.

I am writing to express my consternation and outrage at the conversion of the downtown Burbank, 135 E. Olive Ave., post office into a for-profit parking lot after 6 p.m. Let me get this straight: When I get off work at 7 p.m., I am expected to pay for the privilege of checking my P.O. Box mail? Apparently, no parking spaces have been reserved for postal patrons. Is that land not public property, paid for and maintained by taxpayers? What's next, having to pay a private company to drive into Wildwood Canyon or Stough Canyon Nature Center?

DOWNTOWN — Local officials say they have no immediate plans to capitalize on a state bill aimed at slashing the number of free parking spaces as a way to reduce pollution and boost public transit ridership. The bill, which Sen. Allen Lowenthal (D-Long Beach) said gives cities and counties financial incentives to cease providing free parking on public streets and reduce the amount they require developers to provide, drew the support of the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Sierra Club.

WEST BURBANK — A group of small-business owners near the 900 block of South Victory Boulevard is claiming victory after a four-month tussle with the city to restore nearly 200 feet of street parking. Property owners marched into Council Chambers in July after the city — providing little or no notice — removed between 12 and 18 parking spaces in the area to accommodate a second left-turn lane at Victory Boulevard and Alameda Avenue. Glen Bergstrom, owner of Burbank’s House of Hobbies, was notified less than 24 hours before his 50 to 70 driving customers per day were stripped of more than 80% of their parking, he said.

BURBANK — Small-business owners are red in the face after the city — providing little or no notice — removed about 10 parking spaces to make room for a second left-turn lane at the Victory Boulevard and Alameda Avenue intersection. The project, which in the 900 block of South Victory Boulevard eliminated about three parking spaces to the west and about five to the east, dates back 12 years. City executives at the time assessed the area and, with new development coming on line, determined that they needed to increase capacity of the intersection and cut down congestion from freeway-related traffic.

MAGNOLIA PARK DISTRICT — If Zare Dermegerdichian cannot hold on to his tables and chairs, he said his Healthy Bites restaurant will close. “If they don’t let us keep them, I am 100% sure I would have to close the shop,” he said. “Most of our customers walk here and want a place to sit down and eat.” The 1,000-square-foot eatery on Magnolia Boulevard has for the last eight months been allowed to operate under a temporary exemption from a city requirement that restaurants with on-site dining provide 10 off-street parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of floor area.

BURBANK — The City Council voted Tuesday to approve the expansion of Hotel Amarano despite complaints by several residents about a lack of parking in the construction plans. The vote passed 4 to 1, with Councilman David Gordon casting the dissenting vote. The new addition will include the construction of a four-story building that will have 32 guest rooms, a fitness center as well as a one-bedroom guest suite with a private outdoor courtyard and patio, said Michael Hastings, principal of Direct Point Advisors, a firm that is helping the hotel owner file the entitlement.

BURBANK — The council directed staff members Tuesday to enter into an agreement to explore new parking options downtown and increase revenues for the city’s Parking Authority. “I want to see what options we have and how much financing will be raised at each level,” Mayor Marsha Ramos said. With the council’s direction, the city can now enter an agreement with International Parking Design, an architectural design firm that specializes in parking structures, to seek parking options.

The following items will be discussed at Tuesday?s Burbank City Council meeting: ? The City Council will consider changes to the amount of parking spaces required at multifamily residential projects. ? The current Burbank Municipal Code requires that one guest parking space be provided for every five multifamily residential units. A change to the code would require such residential projects to provide one guest parking spot for every four units and no less than two guest parking spaces.