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Blog Entry 3 of 5 2007 Election: Candidates Q&A's

Responses to 10 Questions from candidates running for two (2) vacant seats on the Burbank City Council.

Blog Url: http://valleynews.com/~BurbankCityCouncil

Q&A with Phillip & Carloyn Berlin

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Contributed by: Eric Michael-Cap on 2/2/2007

1. The City of Burbank is currently considering an ordinance that would prohibit smoking in certain public places such as restaurant patios, parks, farmers markets & such. Do you support in principal such an ordinance? YES or NO.

~ While we have not reviewed what the City may be proposing, we believe banning smoking in public places will create enforcement issues, either with citizens confronting others with possible serious effects, particularly if alcohol is present, and/or a drain on very limited police resources and selective enforcement. We would prefer to see a voluntary program that businesses could be encouraged, perhaps with recognition programs with the City, to meet the needs of their patrons and the public. We don't like to see laws put on the books that cannot be enforced. We are also very concerned about other carcinogens that we all encounter in Burbank's polluted air that is now worse than Houston which recently was found to cause some kinds of cancer in children. [FYI attached is a recent article on Toxic Pollutants]

2. In 2006 the Council unanimously adopted a voluntary Random Drug & Alcohol Testing program. If elected, do you promise to voluntarily submit to random drug & alcohol testing and the public disclosure of the results?

~ Yes.

3. On the April ballot are 4 changes to Burbank's City Charter recommended by the Charter Review Committee, including the appointment of our City Clerk, Treasurer and a replacement Council member in the event of a vacancy, all of whom are currently elected. Do you support or oppose these changes? Also, do you support or oppose changing the currently required 4/5 vote on the Budget to a 3/5 vote?

~ We oppose all the Charter Review amendments regarding no longer having the right to elect our City Clerk, City Treasurer, a Councilman and we oppose the 3/5 vote for Budget approval. A 4/5's vote generates compromise and a better Budget with greater financial accountability to the community. We also oppose the Charter amendment that eliminates departments and the boards/commissions that support them.

4. In 2006 the Council chose to spend approximately $90,000 to pay for the running of the Day Labor Center at Home Depot. Do you support or oppose the continuation of this expenditure & facility?

~ We oppose the Day Labor Center. Home Depot entered into a development agreement with the City of Burbank to provide $90,000 plus each year for ten years. That money was said publicly to be intended to be allocated to pay for a police officer to keep the peace. Simultaneously the City entered into an agreement to pay Catholic Charities the same $90,000 plus per year annually to run the Day Labor Center. The City's General Fund has had to absorb the costs for keeping the peace. This makes no sense because it would have been anticipated that the drain on the General Fund would be considerable based on experience of other cities with pickets and demonstrations.

5. The Whole Foods project denied last year by The Planning Board is a hot topic in Burbank. Do you support or oppose the project as it stands currently?

~ We oppose the Whole Foods project as it is currently proposed. The developer is requesting several variances, and plans to squeeze a massive development onto a small site. This particular use is incompatible with the neighborhood. Main Street would not accommodate the proposed project and it is being recommended that the street be widened. The amount of traffic that would be generated by the project could cause safety issues for the nearby day care centers, school and the health care facilities. There is another issue regarding the actual grocery store use which apparently was never supposed to have been allowed on the site but an error was made in the late 1990s by staff when a revision was incorrectly made to the Rancho Master Plan without notification and participation by that committee. Whole Foods would better be accommodated on a larger site on major arterials within the city.

6. What is your vision for the Downtown area of Burbank? How can we promote business growth/development yet mitigate parking & traffic problems?

~ First, we need to create more parking that is convenient. We have leased public parking for private use that has further created a shortage for nearby merchants. The solution is not to add parking meters, but to add parking. There should also be Redevelopment Agency funds made available to rehabilitate existing older facades and structures. While this program exists today in some form, it does not appear that all property owners are able to take advantage of the program for low interest loans. We also need to review permitted uses and the distance between similar uses so that we offer a better mix that would be more appealing to the community.

7. The Council is about to invest around 15.7 million dollars in upgrading the sports fields at Burbank & Burroughs High Schools, as well as a soccer field Jordan Middle School, which are all used by the community. Do you support or oppose this proposed expenditure?

~ We support an expenditure to improve the athletic athletic fields and facilities. We need to examine closely how the money is to be spent and include a necessary maintenance component. At this time we are not familiar with the details of the proposal.

8. Do you believe the Airport Development Agreement protects Burbank residents from Airport Expansion? If elected, will you ask the Airport Authority to sell the B6 Property currently held in trust as per the 1999 Court decision so that we can put the threat an expanded terminal & commercial flights over the hillside to rest once and for all?

~ Unfortunately the City waived the right to force the Airport to sell the B-6 property. We now have a Development Agreement, which is a contractual obligation that allows the Airport to retain the property. The selling point that the Council presented on behalf of this agreement was that the residents would always be allowed to vote on any new terminal facility. A few short months ago after the agreement was signed, Councilwoman Ramos raised a question whether Measure B was legal. We believe that this Council and their endorsed candidates have no intention of abiding by a Measure B vote. During the next few years, plans for a new terminal will be presented to the Council, there needs to be people on Council like us and David Gordon who will look out for the best interests of this community and its residents. We favor a modernization of the existing terminal. Once there is a replacement terminal elsewhere, there will be flights to the east over your hillside neighborhood and others currently not effected by the Airport. You can see excerpts of the FAA Record of Decision on the Burbank Voters & Taxpayers Group site.

9. How have you served and protected Burbank residents over the last few years? Please give some specific examples.

~ Philip was responsible for finding the Public Utility Code Section 21661.6 that allowed Burbank to secure land use control over expanding the Burbank Airport. That was at a time when a 27-gate terminal had been approved locally and by the FAA. Carolyn was appointed to the Planning Board to be a neighborhood advocate, she fulfilled that role for 9 years. In recent years we have helped neighborhoods fight individual projects that would have been detrimental to their quality of life.

10. In 2006 the Council adopted a zone text amendment to allow music lessons as a Home Occupation. Given Burbank's standing as the Media capital of the World, advancements in current technology, and the traffic gridlock in the media district, do you support further amendments to encourage more people to work-at-home in arts/media related areas such as motion graphic design & animation, video editing and the like?

~ Yes. While Carolyn was on the Planning Board she was successful in encouraging the passage of an earlier ordinance that loosened the restrictions to allow for broader work at home situations.

Contact Carolyn & Phil Berlin:
Phone: (818) 848-6070.
Email: berlinsforburbank@yahoo.com
Web site: http://www.berlinsforburbank.com

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