PURPOSE

At the City Council meeting on October 14, 2003, staff was directed to prepare a First Step report that described what the City can do in conjunction with the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the Air Quality Management District (AQMD), and other State Agencies to improve air quality within the City.   In response to this directive staff was to look at the sources of air pollution within the City, the police powers various Federal and State agencies use to regulate air quality, the police powers the City has within the various elements of the General Plan and the Municipal Code, and to identify some proactive recommendations the City could employ to improve air quality.

BACKGROUND

At the City Council meeting on October 21 the Mayor asked that this item be brought back on November 4 for further discussion by the City Council to clarify the issues initially raised and provide clear direction to staff if any additional research was necessary.   The City Council members continued the discussion and directed staff to prepare a First Step report to address the following four concerns.

1. Identify the sources of air pollution within the City that affect air quality. 

2. Identify the police powers that the Federal, State, and Regional government agencies have to enforce the requirements they establish. 

3. Identify the police powers that the City of Burbank has within the various elements of the General Plan and the Municipal Code to establish local requirements that would affect the sources of air pollution within the City. 

4. Provide a list of the recommendations the AQMD and the Air Resources Board have identified that could be incorporated into the Land Use Element and the Municipal Code to mitigate exposure of residents to local sources of air pollution.

DISCUSSION OF AREAS OF CONCERN

1.         Sources of Air Pollution Within the City of Burbank

There are no lists of specific sources of air pollution within the City of Burbank that staff could find, however, the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) has prepared an Air Quality Analysis Guidance Handbook and Figure 3-1 and 3-5 from the Handbook illustrate the major categories of emissions, and the typical emission sources (Exhibit A). As the illustrations indicate, air pollution originates from either a mobile or fixed source, and both sources exist within the City of Burbank.

Mobile Sources

On-Road Mobile Sources 

The SCAQMD Air Quality Analysis Guidance Handbook indicates in Figure 3-1 (Exhibit A) that one of the principal mobile sources of air pollution is from on-road vehicles.  These include automobile, truck, and bus traffic within the City and the greater Los Angeles region.

Off-Road  Mobile Sources

The Air Quality Guidance Handbook in Figure 3-1 (Exhibit A) also lists off-road vehicles as primary mobile sources of air pollution, and includes aircraft, trains, locomotives, and construction equipment as examples.  The Bob Hope Airport and the passenger and freight train lines within the City contribute to the off-road mobile source.

Fixed Sources

Industrial and Commercial Land Uses

Industrial and commercial land uses incorporate numerous processes that create air pollution, including furnaces for melting metals and baking on finishes, gasoline and diesel powered equipment, and the application of paint and other finishes.  Municipal and private power generating facilities can contribute to the air pollution, and commercial and older residential buildings frequently have steam boilers for heating purposes that provide an additional source of air pollution.   In addition, there are numerous gas stations, auto body shops, dry cleaners, and furniture refinishing businesses that add to the fixed sources of air pollution generated within the City.

Construction activities

Construction activities can create dust emissions from demolition, grading, and excavation activities, and exhaust emissions from construction equipment (which is recognized as an off-road mobile source).  

Vapor extraction systems

Vapor extraction systems are routinely installed at vacated gas station, dry cleaning, and manufacturing sites to remediate on-site soil vapors.  These extraction systems are typically required by the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (CRWQCB) and permitted by the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD).  The smaller systems typically operate for a period of two to three years and are then removed.  Larger systems such as the vapor extraction system located on the former Lockheed Plant B-1 site where the Empire Center exists today may operate for several years before full remediation is accomplished. 

The number of active smaller vapor extraction systems varies from month to month according to the mandates from the CRWQCB and the permits issued by the SCAQMD.  On July 29, 2003 Carol Coy, Deputy Executive Officer with the SCAQMD gave a presentation to the City Council on air pollution throughout the South Coast Air Basin and noted that emissions from vapor extraction systems played a relatively small role in the cumulative air pollution in the basin.  She noted that the major regional contributor of air pollution in the basin was ships in the Los Angeles and Long Beach Harbors, and that second was oil refineries and vehicle emissions, and that vapor extractions played a relatively minor role.  

Other Sources

There are also multiple miscellaneous sources of air pollution including fireplaces and water heaters, lawn mowers, leaf blowers, and other gasoline powered gardening equipment that add to the cumulative pollution.  The list would also include various household items such as paint, and aerosol spray cans.   

NOTE: This discussion of mobile, fixed, and other miscellaneous sources of air pollution is not exhaustive, but representative of typical examples in each category.

2.         Police Powers of Federal, State, and Regional Government Agencies

Federal Government

The Federal Government enacted the Federal Clean Air Act (CAA) in 1955, and has amended the CAA in 1963, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1977, and in 1990. The CAA established federal air quality standards known as National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and specifies future dates for achieving compliance.  The CAA also mandates that states submit and implement a State Implementation Plan (SIPs) for local areas not meeting these standards.  In addition to establishing air quality standards the CAA also regulates mobile source emission with Title II provisions that require the use of cleaner-burning gasoline and other cleaner-burning fuels such as methanol and natural gas.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) was established by the Federal Government in 1970 and is responsible for enforcing the CAA.  The USEPA also regulates emission sources under the exclusive authority of the Federal Government, such as aircraft, ships, and certain types of locomotives.  The USEPA also establishes and enforces emission standards for vehicles in every state except in California, because in California vehicle emission standards are established and enforced by the California Air Resources Board.  

The USEPA is also continually studying new products and processes that will improve air quality.   For Example, in December 2002, the USEPA issued a Draft Technical Report on emulsified diesel fuel (Exhibit B) that presents a technical analysis of issues related to this new product using data that is currently available.  The purpose of the report is to facilitate the exchange of technical information and to inform the public of technical development which may form the basis for a final USEPA decision, position or regulatory action.

California State

The State of California enacted the first statewide air quality act in 1947 when the Air Pollution Control Act was signed into law.  In 1988 the California Clean Air Act (CCAA) was signed into law which replaced the previous Act, and required all areas of the State to achieve and maintain the California Ambient Air Quality Standards (CAAQS), which are a component of the California State Implementation Plan.  The CCAA standards also tend to be more restrictive than Federal standards and are based on even greater health and welfare concerns.   In 1991, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) became part of the California Environmental Protection Agency and is responsible for establishing and enforcing vehicle emission standards and state standards for passenger vehicle fuel specifications (effective in March 1996).

Vehicle emission regulations are enforced by these federal and state agencies when vehicles are manufactured, when they are initially delivered and sold by an auto dealership, when they are registered by the new owner, through the bi-annual smog certification process in the State, and to some degree by state and local law enforcement agencies when gross emissions are evident.

Regional

The SCAQMD was established as the local air pollution control agency for the Basin in 1977 by the Lewis Air Quality Management Act.  The SCAQMD has jurisdiction over a four-county area that includes Orange County, the non-desert portions of Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties (covering an area of approximately 10,743 square miles).  The SCAQMD has also adopted a series of Air Quality Management Plans (AQMP) to meet the California Ambient Air Quality Standards and the National Ambient Air Quality Standards.  The current AQMP was initially adopted by the SCAQMD in 1997.  The plan was later amended in 1999 to include additional short and long term stationary source control measures, and the amended plan was submitted to, and approved by, the USEPA in April 2000. 

The CCAA requires a non-attainment area to update its AQMP triennially to incorporate the most recent available technical information.  The SCAQMD is currently updating the AQMP and prepared a draft Plan in 2003 and obtained CARB approval of the draft Plan in October 2003 (Exhibit C).   Following CARB approval of the draft 2003 AQMP the SCAQMD submitted the new plan to the USEPA for their consideration.   The 2003 AQMP contains proposed policies and measures to achieve federal and state standards in the South Coast Air Basin, which is a sub-region of the District and covers an area of 6,745 square miles within Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino Counties. 

The SCAQMD also adopts rules to implement portions of the AQMP, including rules that apply to construction activities.   For example, Rule 403 establishes criteria for dust control measures during active earth moving, demolition, and construction operations.  Rule 1166 establishes criteria to control the emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOC) during excavation, grading, handling and treating VOC-contaminated soil.  The SCAQMD also requires permits for a whole host of stationary sources of air pollution, including such sources as steam boilers and water heaters, emergency power generators, exhaust vents from auto painting facilities, and excavation of VOC contaminated soil that are subject to specific AQMD requirements such as Rules 201,202, 203, 1166, and a number of other AQMD rules.   

3.         Police Powers the City has to Affect Air Quality

The City of Burbank does not have the authority to draft emission standards for mobile sources, but the City does have the legal right to draft emissions standards for stationary sources.  However, since emissions standards for stationary sources are currently established and enforced by various federal, state, and regional agencies, most local agencies, including the City of Burbank, have not ventured to enact such standards for various reasons partially because other federal and state agencies are specifically mandated to address these concerns.    

The City can, and does, however, determine the compatibility and physical relationship between industrial, commercial and residential land uses, where certain land uses should be permitted, and establish design and operational standards for these uses.  The City  establishes these criteria in the Land Use Element of the General Plan, and implements the goals and objectives of the Land Use Element with the City�s Zone Map and Chapter 31 (Zoning Regulations) of the Municipal Code.  

The State Office of Planning and Research (OPR) has published General Plan Guidelines (Exhibit D) that provide specific direction for each element that is required in the General Plan.  The Guidelines include specific direction with regards to the Land Use Element, and also include a discussion on optional elements such as an air quality, capital improvements / public facilities, community design, economic / fiscal development, and parks and recreation.   

General Plan

The General Plan for the City of Burbank contains seven elements that collectively provide a coordinated plan with goals and policies for physical development of the City.  The Land Use, Housing, and Transportation Elements are the core of the General Plan and work together to address the compatibility of land uses, to provide for industrial, commercial, and housing needs within the City, and it addresses the transportation requirements necessary to serve the proposed land uses.  The Open Space, Conservation, Noise, Safety and Community Facilities Elements address specific aspects that surround the Land Use, Housing and Transportation Elements of the General Plan.

Our primary police power to regulate activities on private and public property is derived from the Land Use Element of the General Plan and the Zoning Ordinance within the Municipal Code.  The Land Use Element considers the relationship between various land uses and establishes the permitted land use for all public and private property within the City.  With the Land Use Element the City has the ability to guide future development and develop a land use pattern that can most effectively achieve the goals of the community. For example, the land use element can separate incompatible land uses, and can promote the establishment of mixed use development areas or development near transit lines that could reduce vehicle trips and emissions.  These issues, including mixed use opportunities, are currently under study as part of the ongoing update of the Land Use Element of the General Plan.

Local Zoning and the Municipal Code

The City has an Official Zone Map that indicates the zoning classification of each property within the City.  The Zoning Code defines how property in each zoning classification can be developed and operated.   The Official Zone Map and the Zoning Code implement the primary objectives of the Land Use Element of the General Plan.

The Burbank Municipal Code contains the rules and regulations that govern activities that are conducted within the City. The Code consists of 31 separate chapters, and each chapter addresses a specific process or activity within the City.

The Zoning Ordinance, Chapter 31 of the Burbank Municipal Code, is the implementation tool for the goals and policies established in the Land Use Element of the General Plan. Through the Zoning Ordinance the City has the ability to develop regulations to insure that incompatible uses are kept separate from each other. Additionally, specific development standards can be applied to certain uses to insure that these uses do not create a nuisance to neighboring residential properties. 

While zoning does not directly address issues of air quality, the standards applied in zoning can have a beneficial impact on air quality issues. For example, separating incompatible uses, requiring loading dock areas to be located as far as possible from adjacent residential uses, and improved landscaping requirements that increase the amount of plants in the City and reduce heat island effects, can collectively contribute to improved air quality.

In 1998 the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 3503 which established Municipal Code standards that placed restrictions on commercial and industrially zoned properties that are adjacent to residential neighborhoods.  The stated purpose of the Residentially Adjacent Commercial and Industrial Uses (RACI) ordinance is as follows:

The purpose of this Article is to ensure that commercial and industrial uses do not cause adverse impacts on adjacent properties and residents or on surrounding neighborhoods due to customer and employee parking demands, traffic generation, noise, light, litter or cumulative impact of such demands in one area (BMC Section 31-1150(a))

The RACI Ordinance acknowledged that many commercial and industrial uses were incompatible with adjacent residential neighborhoods, and that specific restrictions were necessary.  The RACI Ordinance reclassified many commercial and industrial uses as conditionally permitted uses when located within 150 feet of a residentially zoned property.  Through discretionary processes, such as the conditional use permit, it is possible to place conditions of approval on a project to mitigate potential negative impacts from odors and other air quality impacts by affecting the physical design and operations aspects of the proposed use.

On December 16, 2003 a report on engine idling was presented to the City Council, and the Council directed staff to prepare a zone text amendment to make the RACI standards for hours of operation consistent with the Noise Ordinance.  The Council also directed staff to examine the feasibility and practicality of eliminating deliveries from alleys on residentially adjacent properties, and directed the City Attorney�s Office to get an attorney general�s opinion of the draft engine idling ordinance prepared by the Sacramento Air Quality Management District.   Staff will address these issues through the normal process of zone text amendments which involve environmental analysis, and public hearings with the Planning Board and the City Council.    

Discretionary Approval

Discretionary uses require the applicant to submit development plans of the proposed project, and complete a number of informational forms that provide the City with the information necessary to begin the process of evaluating the proposed project.  The City may determine that additional information is necessary before the proposed project can be presented to the Planning Board and City Council for consideration.    

In addition, some discretionary projects are subject to environmental review (Check List) under the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), and this additional review expands the authority of the City beyond Municipal Code requirements, and permits additional analysis and mitigation.  The additional analysis begins with an Initial Study of the proposed project to determine if there are any aspects of the project that might create a potential environmental impact.  If the Initial Study determines that there is a potential that the project might cause an impact on the environment then further analysis is necessary.  The additional analysis might include site planning, traffic, and air quality studies to determine if any environmental impacts could occur as a result of the proposed project, and what specific mitigation would be necessary to reduce or eliminate the impacts.

The Building Code

The Building Division has established fugitive dust control measures in Chapter 7 of the Municipal Code, and has an approved policy that incorporates additional wetting and on-site dust control measures that are aimed at reducing the amount of particulate matter that goes into the air during construction activities (Exhibit E). The Building Division is also analyzing the feasibility of a voluntary green building policy that is intended to encourage environmentally responsible building design and construction. The policy, which is scheduled to go before the City Council in early 2004, is intended to promote the use of energy efficient heating and cooling equipment, recycled materials, and other practices that can result in a decrease in air pollution.

Transportation Planning

Vehicle emissions are often much greater for automobiles and trucks that are idling or accelerating. Thus, maintaining an adequate flow of traffic is a method by which a City can assist in reducing air quality impacts. The Community Development Department and Public Works Department are both involved in the coordination of transportation planning and traffic management activities, such as traffic signalization and right-of-way improvements, which can contribute to improved traffic flow in the City and, as a result, reduce emissions. 

The City is also involved in a number of regional land use and transportation planning programs, including participation in the Arroyo Verdugo Cities subregion of the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG).  This group includes representatives from the Cities of South Pasadena, Pasadena, La Canada-Flintridge, Glendale, and Burbank. Representatives in the Arroyo Verdugo sub-region have worked to identify and address the needs of an expanding population, and have provided input on �Growth Visioning� with a 30 year horizon, and also on the Draft 2004 Regional Transportation Plan. 

The Arroyo Verdugo Cities Subregion recently conducted a transit services study to identify transit deficiencies within the region.  The result of the study, the Arroyo Verdugo Cities Transportation Audit Project, recommends several new and modified transit services within the 5-city area, and identifies possible funding sources to implement these services.  The study examined existing deficiencies in local and regional transit within the region, and studied whether greater cooperation between local and regional transit providers could yield cost savings and better service.  The study also recommended specific service improvements in each of the cities, analyzed the potential for existing Transportation Management Organizations (TMO)/Transportation Management Association (TMA) to improve marketing of public transit, and identified funding opportunities to fund the recommended service and program enhancements.  For Burbank in particular, the study recommended changes to some of the MTA and Glendale Beeline regional lines operating within the City, and recommended the addition of 4 local transit routes to address the City�s local circulation needs.  The study also recommended a number of policy and organizational changes to enhance service and potentially become eligible for additional transportation funds.  Finally, the study recommended a priority implementation plan consisting of short term improvements to the transit network to be implemented while examining some of the broader policy and organizational improvements.

At the meeting of October 7, the study was presented to the City Council, and the Council directed staff to work with the Arroyo Verdugo Cities Subregion to further study the recommendations of the Transit Audit and work to implement the prioritized implementation plan.

In addition to regional transportation planning, the City has adopted Municipal Code criteria in Article 23 of Chapter 31 for Transportation Demand Management (TDM).  Section 31-2304 of Article 23 lists a number of specific vehicle trip reduction requirements that projects must implement.  The criteria also include preparation of a Transportation Impact Analysis (TIA) for all projects that require an environmental impact report (EIR).   The Media District has expanded TDM requirements in Article 21 of Chapter 31 that include specific transportation management strategies for flex-time and modified work schedules, vanpool programs, carpools, promotion of public transit ridership and bus operations, satellite parking, non-vehicular commuting, parking management, merchant transit incentives, and telecommuting.   When the Burbank Center Plan (BCP) was adopted in 1997 it also included specific TDM requirements that were codified in Article 25 of Chapter 31, and section 31-2536 of Article 25 provides specific transportation management strategies for projects that are located within the BCP planning area.  

The Burbank Center Plan also has established policies that encourage development in close proximity to the Regional Intermodal Transit Center (RITC).  By focusing development in this manner, the plan attempts to achieve an increase in transit use by people in the area, and decrease dependency of the traditional private vehicles. The plan also encourages the development of mixed use projects that can result in a decrease in vehicle trips in the plan area, and the implementation of the collective TDM requirements throughout the City will contribute to an improvement in the air quality.

4.         Recommendations from the Air Resources Board and the SCAQMD to Affect Air Quality

The California Air Resources Board has prepared a working draft  Air Quality Handbook on Land Use dated October 2003 (Exhibit F) and the opening paragraph provides the following statement of purpose.

�Land use agencies can play an important role in helping to improve air quality in California communities. These local governments� agencies make critical decisions regarding individual projects as well as adopting plans that will shape the future.  While the Air Resources Board and local air pollution control districts (local air districts) are primarily responsible for programs to improve air quality, land use agencies can help by ensuring appropriate project location, design, and mitigation of adverse impacts�.

State Air Resources Board and the Regional Air Quality Management District

The CARB working draft Air Quality Handbook is still in the initial phase of development and the front cover of the draft indicates it is intended for discussion purposes only.   The working draft can serve as an informational document for use as agencies are in the process of revising their general plans and zoning ordinances, and conduct environmental review.  On page 4 of the working draft handbook it notes that the most serious pollutants on a statewide basis are diesel particulate matter, benzene, and 1, 3-butadiene, all of which are primarily emitted by motor vehicles.  The working draft handbook suggests on pages 13, 21, 22, and 23 that air pollution impacts on residential uses and other sensitive receptors from industrial and commercial uses, and adjacent to freeways, highways, and other heavily traveled roadways aren�t covered by local air district programs or regulations.  The working draft handbook suggests that these impacts can be reduced with local land use policies, zoning requirements, and discretionary procedures that identify and separate incompatible land uses.  

The SCAQMD has prepared a preliminary draft of a Model Air Quality Element that contains a number of preliminary draft recommendations (Exhibit G).  The cover page dated July 11, 2003 signed by Barry Wallerstein, executive director of the SCAQMD, says that the preliminary draft Model Air Quality Element is to be considered as �a menu of options for local governments to meet their particular need and is entirely voluntary on the part of local entities�.  The draft recommendations include preliminary draft land use policies that do the following: site polluting facilities away from sensitive receptors, and vice versa; improve job-housing balance; reduce vehicle miles traveled. 

The AQMD is also preparing a more sophisticated air quality model that can focus on localized issues.  The improved air quality model will be available for incorporation into the environmental review process for projects that are subject to CEQA, and will provide  localized significance threshold (LST) methodology and tables that can be used by public agencies to determine whether or not a project may generate significant adverse localized air quality impacts (Exhibit H).  The LSTs will represent the maximum emissions from a project that will not cause or contribute to an exceedance of the most stringent applicable federal or state ambient air quality standard, and are developed based on the ambient concentration of a specific pollutant for each source receptor area.  

CARB Working Draft Handbook Recommendations

The CARB working draft handbook on Page 23, 32, and 33 (Exhibit F) recommends the CUP process for the following situations so performance standards or other measures can be applied to prevent or reduce emissions. 

• A sensitive receptor location is sited in a mixed-use zone;

• A project subject to air regulations is sited where there is a concentration of multiple pollution sources in a mixed-use area;

• A housing development is sited downwind or adjacent to a business that uses or emits air toxics; or

• A housing development or sensitive receptor location is sited within a major transportation corridor without providing for measures that can reduce excess motor vehicle or diesel emissions.

As part of the discretionary process the draft handbook suggests (Page 28) that a risk evaluations be prepared when situations such as the following occur:

• A major industrial facility that emits air toxics that would be located near a residential area or school;

• A small business or light industrial facility that would emit air toxics, even in minute amounts, such as hexavalent chromium, upwind of a residential or sensitive receptor location;

• A commercial facility or major transportation corridor that would induce traffic especially with relation to diesel trucks adjacent to a residential area or school yard; and

• Sensitive receptor projects e.g., a school or convalescent home seeking to locate or located near any of the above sources.

The CARB working draft handbook (Page 30) also suggests that General Plan updates include the following provisions:

• General Plan updates should be considered to reflect OPR�s latest guidelines related to sustainable development and environmental justice; and

• Policies within the General Plan can include actions to reduce diesel PM emissions from land use activities and indirect sources where diesel-fueled vehicles are concentrated.

On Pages 30 and 31 of the draft handbook CARB asks that local air districts work with land use agencies to develop and/or require design changes or performance standards to prevent or reduce potential air pollution impacts to the surrounding community.  Again the Handbook states that �as available�, the CARB will provide land use agencies and local air districts with available statewide regional modeling results and technical assistance for micro-scale modeling.  CARB is also working on developing modeling tools at the neighborhood scale, and is recommending that Local Air Districts develop and incorporate health and risk-based distance criteria into source-specific rules. 

AQMD Preliminary Draft Model Air Quality Element Recommendations

The AQMD preliminary draft Model Air Quality Element contains a number of suggested �Land Use Strategies� beginning on Page 6 of their preliminary draft Model Air Quality Element (Exhibit G).  Following is a list of the suggested strategies.

AQ 1.1            Adopt a definition of environmental justice in order to ensure that all land use decisions, including enforcement actions, are made in an equitable fashion, in order to protect residents, regardless of age, culture, ethnicity, gender, race, socioeconomic status, or geographic location, from the health effects of air pollution.

AQ 1.2            Establish criteria (e.g., identification of least impacting alternatives, development of a �check list�, which could include asking whether a project requires an AQMD permit, to identify if there is a potential cumulative health risk associated with a project; set distance requirements) for the consideration of the cumulative impacts specific land uses have on air quality as opposed to looking solely at each use on an individual basis, in order to protect the environment and the health of the residents.

AQ 1.3            Separate and protect sensitive receptors from dry cleaners, diesel backup generators, auto body shops, metal plating facilities, gasoline stations, wood refinishing facilities, warehouses, rail yards, freeways, heavily traveled roadways and other area, stationary, and indirect sources that emit odors and/or toxic air contaminants to the greatest extent possible.

AQ 1.4            Require site plan designs to provide the maximum feasible protection to people and land uses sensitive to air pollution through the use of buffer zones such as barriers and/or distance from emissions sources.

AQ 1.5            Require the use of pollution control measures, such as landscaping, vegetation and other materials that trap particulate matter or control pollution, near sensitive land uses.

AQ 1.6            Protect sensitive receptors by creating an urban tree planting program, in order to help with ozone formation.

AQ 1.7            Study and consider meteorological conditions when siting sensitive receptors and area sources, freeways and heavily traveled roadways, indirect sources, and other stationary sources that emit odors or toxic air contaminants.

AQ 1.8            Consider point and line source (if applicable) if increased traffic will occur from a project.

Pages 8 through 19 of the preliminary draft Model Air Quality Element contains a number of additional strategies that address housing, businesses near transit,  increasing land densities, and policies regarding transportation, stationary pollution sources, reduction of particulate matter, energy conservation, public education, and multi-jurisdictional cooperation.

It should be noted that many of the suggestions provided by the SCAQMD in the preliminary draft Model Air Quality Element reflect the criteria suggested by CARB in the working draft handbook.  The criteria suggested in the working draft handbook produced by CARB reflect the guidelines for environmental justice and the optional air quality element contained in the General Plan Guidelines published by OPR (Exhibit D).  The General Plan Guidelines published by OPR provide specific direction for each element that is required in the General Plan, including the Land Use Element, and also include a discussion on optional elements, with specific reference to an air quality element.   However, many of these items are already considered in our land use policies and codes, i.e., RACI, and other items may be considered in our update of the Land Use Element while recognizing the limitations in a built out city.

SUMMARY  

Air quality regulations are primarily established at the federal, state, and regional level, and those standards regulate the majority of all facets of mobile and fixed sources of air pollution.  The vast majority of mobile and fixed sources of air pollution generated within the City of Burbank fall under the jurisdiction of a Federal, State, or Regional agency; however, the City does have the ability to establish policies and standards regarding physical development of property within the City�s boundaries.     The City can determine the compatibility of land uses, and establish policies, design and performance criteria that will affect future physical development.  

The City has changed a great deal during the past decade.  The defense industry that dominated the City of Burbank since the Second World War has been gradually replaced beginning in the early 1990s when Lockheed Martin announced their intention to relocate their facilities.  Cleaner manufacturing, the high-tech media industry, and commercial uses have replaced the previous industrial uses and eliminated a majority of air pollution that originated from the former industrial uses.  The recycling of defense industry and heavy manufacturing uses continues, as high-tech media industry and commercial uses move to the City Burbank. 

The City of Burbank has also taken a pro-active approach to many City activities that affect air quality, and has replaced a large number of the gasoline powered City vehicles with electric and compressed natural gas powered vehicles.  The City has also constructed a compressed natural gas fueling station at the City�s Water Reclamation Plant at 740 North Lake Street for both City vehicles and the general public.  In addition, the Public Works Department is in the process of exploring the possibility of developing a hydrogen fueling facility.  The City has also incorporated a pro-active approach through the environmental review process for discretionary projects.  For example, the DEIR for the proposed Home Depot has included a mitigation measure that will require the applicant to provide a supply of emulsified diesel fuel on-site during the demolition and construction phase of the project, and require all contractors to use the fuel in their diesel powered construction equipment.  In addition, the topic of mixed use zoning is on the agenda of items the City is pursuing, and it is one of the goals/policies of the preliminary Draft Model Air Quality Element prepared by the SCAQMD.

The Land Use Element of the General Plan establishes policy regarding compatibility of land uses and the Zoning Code is the principal tool to implement those policies.  The Land Use Element is currently being updated, and in the process staff can facilitate discussion and analysis of appropriate recommendations from the working draft Air Quality Handbook on Land Use prepared by CARB and the preliminary draft Model Air Quality Element.  The City Council and Planning Board sub-committees will have opportunity to input on this matter during the process.  Appropriate goals and provisions related to air quality can be considered along with other issues when the Planning Board and City Council consider the amended Land Use and Transportation Elements for adoption.  The policies eventually established in the adopted updated Land Use Element will be implemented through amendments to the Municipal Code to insure future development is consistent with the goals and objectives of the Land Use Element.

RECOMMENTATION

Should the City Council wish to place this matter on a future agenda for further discussion, staff recommends that the Council identify specific issues they want staff to investigate, and direct staff to prepare a detailed report on those issues.

LIST OF EXHIBITS

Exhibit A          SCAQMD Air Quality Analysis Guidance Handbook, Figure 3-1 and 3-5

Exhibit B          USEPA Draft Technical Report on Emulsified Diesel Fuel

                         Dated December 2002

Exhibit C          Proposed SCAQMD 2003 Air Quality Management Plan        

Exhibit D          State of California General Plan Guidelines

Exhibit E           City of Burbank Policy on Dust Control (Policy No. BD/PA-004)

Exhibit F           California Air Resources Board Draft Air Quality Handbook on Land Use

                          Dated October 2003

Exhibit G          SCAQMD Preliminary Draft Air Quality Elements Dated July 11, 2003

Exhibit H          SCAQMD Draft Localized Significance Threshold Methodology

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