Burbank Media District Specific Plan Update

The Media District Specific Plan is a policy document that provides land use policies and development standards for the commercial, residential, and industrial areas in the southwestern corner of the City of Burbank. The existing Specific Plan was created in 1991 and concentrated on development growth-control and assured that all new development could be accommodated by infrastructure and public services and preserved the character of neighborhoods within the Specific Plan Area. The proposed Project aims to develop implementing policies and programs to remove barriers to housing production, streamline the permitting process, and introduce objective design standards for new development within the Specific Plan Area. Approximately 9,702 residential units, 3,986,207 square feet of commercial and general business development, and 400 hotels rooms are projected under the proposed Project. The Specific Plan Area is approximately 544 acres bounded by the Magnolia Park neighborhood to the north, South Keystone Street east, the Los Angeles River to the south, and the Toluca Lake and Toluca woods neighborhoods to the west. The Specific Plan Area is bisected by State Route 134 (SR 134) and the Metrolink Commuter Rail. The City identified groupings of underutilized sites within the Specific Plan Area as opportunities for infill and adaptive reuse. These sites are referred to as opportunity sites and would assist in meeting the City’s goals of introducing affordable housing, promoting infill development, and catalyzing economic development in proximity to existing employment centers and envisioned transit centers and corridors. Under the proposed project, 125 percent of allowed density could be applied to future development projects that qualify as transit-oriented development or exceptional project based on City eligible criteria and process, including opportunity sites and 100 percent of allowed non-residential intensity could be applied to all opportunity sites. These allowances would aid in streamlining the full range of non-residential development options without the need for additional density bonuses or restrictions. Approximately 212-acres within the Specific Plan Area are zoned as Planned Development with several multi-media studios and are subject to private development agreements. For informational purposes, the number of potential residential units within these areas has been assessed under the “Planned Development” designation. However, these units are not included in the overall development potential under the proposed Project as these properties are regulated through individual development agreements and are not subject to the provisions of the proposed Project update. The intent of the proposed Project is to guide development in the Specific Plan Area in a way that is appropriate with pre-existing land uses, neighborhoods and infrastructure, and enhance the built environment through well designed buildings. To reflect that the Specific Plan should be a distinct and unified community with a clear vision, the Burbank2035 General Plan Land Use Map would be amended under the proposed Project to reflect just one land use designation for the Specific Plan Area, Media District Land Use. The proposed Project would also include a zone text amendment to Title 10 of the Burbank Municipal Code to incorporate by reference the objective development and design standards established in the proposed Project for zones within the Specific Plan Area. The City has prepared a Recirculated Draft Program Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the proposed Project. The following sections of the Draft Program EIR are available for comment as part of recirculation: Section 1, Introduction, Section 2, Project Description, and Section 6, Alternatives. The purpose of this document is to provide analysis for a new project alternative, the Sustainable Infrastructure Alternative, that was prepared in response to public comments received regarding the proposed Project’s significant and unavoidable impacts related to wastewater conveyance and capacity, as well as the cumulatively significant impacts associated with water supply, wastewater facilities, and electricity. The Sustainable Infrastructure Alternative would decrease the development potential to 2,258 residential units, 684,245 square feet of non-residential uses, and 400 hotel rooms. In comparison, the proposed Project that was analyzed by the original Draft Program EIR would facilitate development of up to 9,702 residential units and 3,986,207 square feet of commercial and general business development, and 400 hotel rooms. The Project Description is provided for information purposes only; no changes from the Draft Program EIR have been made to the Project Description.