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BURBANK ? City Manager Mike Flad on Thursday named Greg Hermann as interim director of the Community Development Department effective July 1. Hermann is expected to join the executive team as a permanent replacement for retiring director Sue Georgino since the city had opted to forgo the usual candidate search. Hermann has held several jobs in the department including associate planner, principal planner and assistant director for transportation. Recently his duties as chief assistant director have included overseeing the planning and transportation division.

BURBANK — City Manager Mike Flad on Thursday named Greg Hermann interim director of the Community Development Department effective July 1. Hermann is expected to join the executive team as a permanent replacement for retiring director Sue Georgino because the city had opted to forgo the usual candidate search. He has held several jobs in the department including associate planner, principal planner and assistant director for transportation. Recently his duties as chief assistant director have included overseeing the planning and transportation division.

A new restaurant planned for San Fernando Boulevard will bring lush landscaping to create a park-like atmosphere and nearly 900 square feet of outdoor dining. The restaurant, to be located at 546 S. San Fernando Blvd., will incorporate an existing 2,494-square-foot building that was once a landscaping nursery. With two large outdoor dining areas, there will be a total of about 3,600 square feet of restaurant space, according to plans approved by the Planning Board last month. Applicant Aram Mnatsakanyan had requested an outdoor stage for unamplified performances by musicians, but planning commissioners nixed that feature because of two nearby apartment buildings.

CITY HALL — Looking to meet the needs of a growing population, the City Council established a housing subcommittee Tuesday evening. The subcommittee will consist of two council members and members of the Community Development Department’s planning division, city officials said. The formation of a housing subcommittee comes on the heels of a council meeting in which housing and planning dominated the discussion. At the Oct. 2 council meeting, the Planning Board and the City Council held a joint meeting.

For many people, juggling venues, rental companies and designers when planning an event can feel like an impossible task. Knowing how hard event planning can be, three small-business owners have teamed up to plan and design events from one location. Event coordinator Christine Zohrabians, along with designers Sherry Nalbandian and Lara Peltekian, have created an event showroom where clients can organize their events in one place. “It’s convenient for a client to come here, sit down, see everything, consult, pick, order and then execute,” Nalbandian said.

CITY HALL — City officials announced Tuesday that 13 residents have qualified for next year’s City Council election, including two incumbent council members and former Burbank board members seeking to fill three seats. Mayor Dave Golonski and Councilman David Gordon have each been qualified by the city and state to defend their seats for the April 14 election, as have 11 other residents vying for the soon-to-be open seat of Councilwoman Marsha Ramos. Ramos confirmed earlier this year that she would not seek reelection after her second and final term on the council expires in 2009.

CITY HALL — A majority of the City Council last week criticized portions of a draft proposal that would reduce parking for downtown developers. The draft report on new standards for downtown development was slated to go before the Planning Board and then City Council for public hearings in January and February. But the council instructed city planners to bring it back early next year for further discussion after some questioned a proposed 5% to 10% reduction in the minimum parking requirements within a quarter-mile of the nearby Metrolink station.

The San Fernando Road corridor north of the Empire Center - a mostly drab, commercial area - could be transformed into a more walkable, attractive area with the addition of some mixed-use developments and revamped thoroughfares under plans being floated at City Hall. Since Lockheed's departure in the late 1980s, the city has wanted to redevelop the area roughly bound by Andover Drive to the north; Third Street and portions of Glenoaks Boulevard to the east; Burbank Boulevard to the south; and Leland Way and Interstate 5 to the west.

The following item will be discussed at Tuesday?s Burbank City Council meeting: ? The council?s only agenda item is a joint meeting between the council and the Planning Board to discuss the local housing market. ? Senior Planner Barbara Lazar, Principal Community Planner Michael Forbes and others will speak about Burbank?s housing crisis. Burbank does not have adequate capacity for additional housing units to accommodate its share of future regional housing growth as required by state law, according to staff reports.

Three local residents have filed a lawsuit against the city to stop a Walmart from opening in Burbank, alleging the city illegally cleared the way to issue building permits to the world's largest retailer without adequately investigating the store's environmental impact. After months of public outcry that included protests and opposition voiced at City Council meetings, Shanna Ingalsbee, Katherine Olson and Yvette Ziraldo filed the lawsuit Friday through their attorney, Gideon Kracov, who also represents United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 770. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, alleges that the city has yet to make street improvements that were required before building permits could be issued for any new businesses in, or adjacent to, the Empire Center, according to a resolution approved by the City Council in June 2000.

A new restaurant planned for San Fernando Boulevard will bring lush landscaping to create a park-like atmosphere and nearly 900 square feet of outdoor dining. The restaurant, to be located at 546 S. San Fernando Blvd., will incorporate an existing 2,494-square-foot building that was once a landscaping nursery. With two large outdoor dining areas, there will be a total of about 3,600 square feet of restaurant space, according to plans approved by the Planning Board last month. Applicant Aram Mnatsakanyan had requested an outdoor stage for unamplified performances by musicians, but planning commissioners nixed that feature because of two nearby apartment buildings.

The San Fernando Road corridor north of the Empire Center - a mostly drab, commercial area - could be transformed into a more walkable, attractive area with the addition of some mixed-use developments and revamped thoroughfares under plans being floated at City Hall. Since Lockheed's departure in the late 1980s, the city has wanted to redevelop the area roughly bound by Andover Drive to the north; Third Street and portions of Glenoaks Boulevard to the east; Burbank Boulevard to the south; and Leland Way and Interstate 5 to the west.

CITY HALL — A majority of the City Council last week criticized portions of a draft proposal that would reduce parking for downtown developers. The draft report on new standards for downtown development was slated to go before the Planning Board and then City Council for public hearings in January and February. But the council instructed city planners to bring it back early next year for further discussion after some questioned a proposed 5% to 10% reduction in the minimum parking requirements within a quarter-mile of the nearby Metrolink station.

BURBANK — City Manager Mike Flad on Thursday named Greg Hermann interim director of the Community Development Department effective July 1. Hermann is expected to join the executive team as a permanent replacement for retiring director Sue Georgino because the city had opted to forgo the usual candidate search. He has held several jobs in the department including associate planner, principal planner and assistant director for transportation. Recently his duties as chief assistant director have included overseeing the planning and transportation division.

BURBANK ? City Manager Mike Flad on Thursday named Greg Hermann as interim director of the Community Development Department effective July 1. Hermann is expected to join the executive team as a permanent replacement for retiring director Sue Georgino since the city had opted to forgo the usual candidate search. Hermann has held several jobs in the department including associate planner, principal planner and assistant director for transportation. Recently his duties as chief assistant director have included overseeing the planning and transportation division.

For many people, juggling venues, rental companies and designers when planning an event can feel like an impossible task. Knowing how hard event planning can be, three small-business owners have teamed up to plan and design events from one location. Event coordinator Christine Zohrabians, along with designers Sherry Nalbandian and Lara Peltekian, have created an event showroom where clients can organize their events in one place. “It’s convenient for a client to come here, sit down, see everything, consult, pick, order and then execute,” Nalbandian said.

CITY HALL — City officials announced Tuesday that 13 residents have qualified for next year’s City Council election, including two incumbent council members and former Burbank board members seeking to fill three seats. Mayor Dave Golonski and Councilman David Gordon have each been qualified by the city and state to defend their seats for the April 14 election, as have 11 other residents vying for the soon-to-be open seat of Councilwoman Marsha Ramos. Ramos confirmed earlier this year that she would not seek reelection after her second and final term on the council expires in 2009.

CITY HALL — Looking to meet the needs of a growing population, the City Council established a housing subcommittee Tuesday evening. The subcommittee will consist of two council members and members of the Community Development Department’s planning division, city officials said. The formation of a housing subcommittee comes on the heels of a council meeting in which housing and planning dominated the discussion. At the Oct. 2 council meeting, the Planning Board and the City Council held a joint meeting.