Council Agenda - City of Burbank

Tuesday, May 15, 2007

Agenda Item - 7


 

 
                                              CITY OF BURBANK
                                   PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT
                                                 MEMORANDUM

 
 

 

DATE: May 15, 2007
TO: Mary J. Alvord, City Manager
FROM:

Bonnie Teaford, Public Works Director
Via:  Ken Johnson, Traffic Engineer                      

By:  Jeanne Keeler, Parking Analyst

SUBJECT: ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 29 (VEHICLES AND TRAFFIC) OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE


 

Purpose

 

To introduce an ordinance amending Chapter 29 (Vehicles and Traffic) of the Burbank Municipal Code to bring the code in line with procedural practice and to revise obsolete language.

 

BACKGROUND

 

Chapter 29, Vehicles and Traffic, contains twenty-nine articles that address traffic administration and regulations. Over the years, Council adopted ordinances amending particular items within this Chapter of the Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) to update and clarify the code to accommodate current practices and procedures. This proposed ordinance amends Chapter 29 in its entirety to remove outdated references such as the Golden Mall, streetcars, etc., and to eliminate practices that are no longer performed in current procedures or operations. 

 

Traffic Engineering staff met weekly over the course of many months to review each section and each article to identify code items requiring procedural changes or language clarification.  In cases where an item was more appropriately addressed in the California Vehicle Code, the section was deleted in its entirety from the Burbank Municipal Code. All proposed changes to Chapter 29 were reviewed, modified and approved by the Police and Community Development Departments.  The Traffic and Transportation Committee endorsed the proposed changes for Council consideration during their February 2007 meeting.

 

ANALYSIS

 

Revisions and Addition Highlights

 

The proposed changes to the Burbank Municipal Code, Chapter 29 include a number of revisions and additions.  These amendments are highlighted in the following paragraphs. 

 

Downtown Burbank - The proposed ordinance incorporates new language into BMC Chapter 29 that reflects historic changes to Downtown Burbank.  Although the Golden Mall disappeared from the Downtown landscape in the late 1980s, code language still refers to the Golden Mall.  The Downtown is now divided into three districts: The Mall District, Village District and the Civic District.  Defining and using these current demarcations is appropriate for referring to the current Downtown Burbank area.

 

Roles and Responsibilities � The duties of City departments have changed over the years.  The Public Works Director has become the definitive authority for specific decisions related to traffic control and for the installation of traffic control devices.  Based on the existing practice, the proposed ordinance gives sole authorization throughout Chapter 29 to the Public Works Director for installation of traffic markings and other traffic control devices, replacing code requirements that involve the Chief of Police and/or the City Manager. 

 

The following specific changes are requested to the current BMC:

 

Article 1: Definitions

 

The following definition additions and/or modifications are proposed:

 

           Alley

           Bus Zone

           Central Traffic District

           Chandler Bikeway

           Electric Vehicle Charging Station

           MUTCD & CA Supplement (California Vehicle Code)

           Official Traffic Control Device

           Safety Zone

           Taxi Stand

           Valet Zone

 

Section 29-1002 (f): Exemptions from Time Limited Parking Restrictions

 

The monthly parking permit program began in 1998 as a means of managing the City�s downtown parking resources and to create a revenue stream to offset public parking structure maintenance.  From its inception, the program was managed administratively with permit fees authorized by the City Council Fee Resolutions.  The addition of 29-1002(f) codifies the monthly permit program. 

 

Section 29-1004(b) (3), (c) (2): Preferential Parking on Residential Streets

 

Refinements are proposed for Section 29-1004, Permit Parking in Residential Zones.  This residential parking permit program began in the late 1970s.  The program today includes over 100 residential streets throughout the city; however, staffing and funding for this program remains very limited. The ordinance proposes changing the one-year renewal time frame for residential parking permits to a three year time frame, thereby extending the useable life of issued parking permits.  The change saves money and minimizes expenditure of staff resources.

 

As the residential parking permit program evolved, a more accurate eligibility requirement for establishing permit zones became necessary.  The program needed to respond to a large number of residential parking permit applications within a zone having an extremely limited on-street parking supply.  This ordinance change stipulates that the number of residential dwelling units cannot exceed the number of available on-street parking spaces within a particular parking permit zone to insure supply will meet the parking needs.  The program will also exclude resident parking demand from the survey of parking utilization for an exclusive resident parking zone.

 

Sec. 29-1013(1): Parking of Non-motorized Vehicle Prohibited

 

Impaired driver visibility often results from non-motorized vehicles parking near intersections.   The resulting impaired driver visibility creates safety issues for motorists and pedestrians at the intersection.  A proposed revision to this BMC section requires a 100-foot separation from an intersection for parked non-motorized vehicles and a maximum parking time duration of 24 hours.

 

Deletion Highlights

 

The ordinance removes procedures that are codified but no longer relevant. For example, the licensing of bicycles by the Police Department ceased long ago (Sec. 29-1901), and a code process to allow jurors to park on Downtown streets (Sec. 29-305, c) is not necessary since juror parking is contractually provided within the Courthouse parking structure and other nearby parking lots.   Additionally, Sec. 29-2001-2010, Bicycle Parking in Front of Places of Public Assembly, places unnecessary restrictions on bicyclists which contravene the City�s Mobility Element.

 

The following sections are proposed for deletion, since they are not applicable to current practice or are fully regulated in the California Vehicle Code:

 

Annual Traffic Safety Report: Sec. 29-204

Exemptions to Certain Vehicles: Sec. 29-305 (c)

Installation and Location of Traffic Signals: Sec 29-402 (c)

Yield-Right-of-Way Signs: Sec. 29 406-407

Curb Markings and Their Meanings: Sec. 29-1101 (1-4)

Authority to Establish Loading Zones: Sec. 29-1201 (a-d)

Bus Zones Prohibited Near Safety Zones: Sec. 29-1205

Effect of Permission to Load or Unload: Sec. 29-1209

 

Environmental review has determined that this project is categorically exempt according to CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c).

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

Staff recommends that Council adopt the proposed ordinance amending Chapter 29 of the Burbank Municipal Code.

 

 

 

 

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