PURPOSE:

This report recommends that the City Council approve an amendment to the Burbank Municipal Code to change the required composition of the Heritage Commission to allow any interested Burbank residents to seek a seat on the Commission.

BACKGROUND:

In 1994, the City Council adopted the City�s historic preservation ordinance.  The purpose of the ordinance, contained in Chapter 31, Article 9, Division 6 of the Burbank Municipal Code (BMC), is to preserve the cultural and architectural heritage of the City of Burbank and to protect historic structures and resources.  At the time the preservation ordinance was adopted, the City Council created the Heritage Commission.  The purpose of the Commission is to administer the historic preservation ordinance and to encourage public and private historic preservation efforts.  The Commission serves as an advisory body to the Council and is also charged with reviewing all requests for permits to modify a designated historic resource.

BMC Section 2-420 establishes the Heritage Commission and specifies its composition and responsibilities.  The Code provides that the Commission shall be composed of five Burbank residents, including the following:

• Two members from the business community

• Two members experienced in the field of historical preservation, based upon a list of candidates submitted by the Burbank Historical Society

• One member from the community at large

While the Code does not define who specifically constitutes a member from the business community, it has been interpreted to mean someone who owns or manages a business in Burbank or otherwise represents a Burbank business interest, based on the original intent of this requirement.

In December 2005, former Heritage Commissioner Dany Carol resigned her seat on the Commission effective January 1, 2006.  The seat vacated by Ms. Carol was for a representative from the business community.  While two applications were received from Burbank residents to fill the vacancy, neither of the applicants qualified as a business community representative.  Because neither applicant could be appointed consistent with Code requirements, the seat has remained unfilled.

The currently vacant seat is for a term that will expire on June 1, 2006.  Two other Commission terms will also expire on June 1.  This will leave a total of three vacancies, with one vacancy for a person experienced in historic preservation and two vacancies for individuals from the business community.  As of the April 28, 2006 filing deadline, six Burbank residents had applied for the three vacant seats.  However, only one of the six applicants works in Burbank and could be considered as meeting the criteria as a representative of the business community.  Therefore, the Council cannot fill the three vacant seats, given the current applicant pool, in a manner consistent with the BMC.

ANALYSIS:

Staff believes that it is unfortunate that Burbank residents who are interested in serving on the Heritage Commission cannot do so simply because they do not represent the business community, as required for the currently vacant seats.  Staff discussed this matter with the City Attorney�s office to determine whether any options were available for the City Council to appoint someone to a business representative seat even if they did not work in Burbank or otherwise represent the Burbank business community.  The Attorney�s office advised that the only option is to amend the BMC to change the required composition of the Commission. 

The Heritage Commission�s composition was dictated by the Code in an effort to provide the Commission with balanced representation and to ensure that historic preservation efforts did not unreasonably impact the business community.  In the 12-year history of the Commission, these initial concerns about preservation interests adversely affecting the business community have not been realized. Staff believes that it would be appropriate to amend the required composition of the Commission to allow any interested Burbank resident to apply for a seat on the Commission.

Staff proposes that BMC Section 2-420 be amended as shown in Exhibit A.  The proposed amendment would require the Commission to be composed of five residents with a �demonstrated interest, competence, or knowledge in historic preservation.�  This requirement is much more flexible than the existing requirement, as it would allow any resident interested in preservation to apply to serve on the Commission.  To promote professional competence among the Commissioners, at least two members would be encouraged by the Code, but not required, to have professional backgrounds in a discipline related to historic preservation.  As discussed further below, the proposed composition requirement is consistent with the guidelines of the Certified Local Government program.

Heritage Commission Consideration

The Heritage Commission considered the proposed change to its composition at its regular meeting of April 6, 2006.  The Commissioners stated their belief that the proposed change would provide opportunities for additional residents to serve on the Commission and would therefore be a positive change.  The Commission voted 3-0 (with Commissioner Barr absent) to recommend that the Council approve the proposed change.

State Office of Historic Preservation Consideration

Aside from being regulated by local law, the Heritage Commission�s activities are also regulated by the State of California Office of Historic Preservation (OHP) through the Certified Local Government (CLG) program.  The City of Burbank is registered with the state as a CLG, which allows the City to administer its own historic preservation ordinance, administer state and federal preservation programs, and apply for certain historic preservation grants.  Consistent with staff�s proposal, the CLG program requires that the Heritage Commission be composed of at least five members, all with a �demonstrated interest, competence, or knowledge in historic preservation.�  At least two Commissioners are encouraged (but not required) to have professional backgrounds in history, architecture, architectural history, archaeology, conservation, planning, or another discipline related to historic preservation.  There is no CLG requirement to have representatives from the business community on the Commission.  Staff provided a copy of the proposed Code changes to OHP staff to review at their request.  Upon review, OHP staff did not have any opposition to the proposed change or express any concerns about the change.

Environmental Review

The proposed ordinance to change the composition of the Heritage Commission is categorically exempt from environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15320 of the State CEQA Guidelines.  This Guidelines section exempts from environmental review actions pertaining to changes in the organization of local agencies.

FISCAL IMPACT:

The recommended change to the composition of the Heritage Commission would have no fiscal impact on the City.  The proposed ordinance would not affect the powers of the Heritage Commission, the number of members on the Commission, the frequency of Commission meetings, or the resources required to support the Commission.  The ordinance would only change the requirements for the types of individuals who are allowed to serve on the Commission.

CONCLUSION:

Staff believes that it would be appropriate to amend the Municipal Code so as to allow all five Heritage Commission members to represent the community at large.  Consistent with CLG requirements, the Code would encourage the appointment of at least two members with backgrounds in disciplines related to preservation.  All Commission members would be responsible for ensuring that the Commission provides a balanced perspective and equally represents the interests of Burbank residents and businesses.  Staff believes that allowing any interested residents to serve on the Commission increases the fairness of the appointment process and provides an equal opportunity for all Burbank residents to serve on the Commission.

RECOMMENDATION:

Staff recommends that the City Council adopt the proposed ordinance to amend the Burbank Municipal Code to allow all five members of the Commission to be appointed at large from the community, with at least two members encouraged to have a professional background in a discipline related to historic preservation.

LIST OF EXHIBITS:

Exhibit A          Redline text of proposed change to Burbank Municipal Code Section 2-420

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