Burbank planning commission backs zoning changes to streamline project appeals for housing

The City of Burbank Planning Commission on Jan. 13 voted 3-0 to recommend the City Council adopt a zone text amendment to implement Program 22 of the Burbank 2021–2029 Housing Element, streamlining project appeal procedures for housing projects.

The amendment would end the ability to appeal a director’s decision on a housing project beyond the Planning Commission, require appellants to cite the specific Burbank Municipal Code section that forms the basis of their appeal, consolidate inconsistent appeal language in Title 10 into centralized sections (BMC 10-1-1907.2 and 10-1-1907.3), clarify that only disapprovals of ministerial review applications and discretionary development review decisions are appealable, and update public-notice timelines to meet the 20-calendar-day…