Latest / Burbank / Media District plan goes to council; film permit fees return in December

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Media District plan goes to council; film permit fees return in December · Burbank

• 0:06
  Maya: On this week's episode: the Planning Commission sends a scaled-back plan for the Media District on to the City Council, and the council asks for options on waiving film permit fees.
• 0:20
  Maya: From City Hall on Olive Avenue, here's your weekly debrief.
• 0:25
  Maya: Theo, both of this week's big stories touch the entertainment industry, and one of them is about the ground the studios sit on.
• 0:32
  Theo: That ground has some history. First National Pictures bought a seventy-eight acre site on Olive Avenue in 1926, and the Warner brothers' company took First National over in 1928. Disney's lot opened in early 1940.
• 0:47
  Maya: And city staff said Monday that the plan governing that district dates to 1991.
• 0:53
  Theo: One more piece of timing. On Tuesday the council proclaimed October National Community Planning Month, recognizing the city's planning staff and its appointed commissioners. That was one night after the planners brought forward an update they said was almost four years in the making.
• 1:06
  Maya: This episode was produced with AI from the public recording of the meeting. Links to the source are in the show notes.
• 1:16
  Maya: Our top story this week: the future of the Media District. On Monday the Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend that the City Council approve an update to the Media District Specific Plan, along with its environmental report and matching changes to the general plan and the zoning code.
• 1:34
  Theo: So what does the plan actually do?
• 1:36
  Maya: It sets what can be built on the southwestern edge of the city, the area that includes Disney, Warner Brothers and other studios. That means uses, heights, densities and parking. It also creates a streamlined approval path for qualifying housing and small commercial projects.
• 1:52
  Theo: And the version the commission backed is a scaled-back one.
• 1:56
  Maya: Yes. It's called the Sustainable Infrastructure Alternative. City staff said it concentrates growth in the center of the district and limits it to what city utilities can serve. Staff said it came out of public comments about utilities and infrastructure during the environmental review.
• 2:12
  Theo: Scaled back by how much?
• 2:14
  Maya: Commissioner Mike Van Gorder pointed to a drop in potential housing units, from ninety-seven hundred under the original proposal to twenty-two hundred under the alternative. Those figures were spoken at the meeting, and the agenda doesn't confirm them. Van Gorder asked how that fits the city's state housing targets. Staff answered that the reduced plan is consistent with those obligations, and that infrastructure for the larger versions could be built, but not by the plan's 2035 horizon.
• 2:43
  Theo: Nine people spoke at the hearing. What did they ask for?
• 2:47
  Maya: Four asked that any new hotel in the district be required to get a development agreement, not only a conditional use permit. Three of them said they were with a hospitality workers' union. Other speakers questioned whether sewer and electrical capacity will be ready, objected that the hearing materials came out the Thursday before, or raised fire evacuation and the state housing law S-B seventy-nine.
• 3:11
  Theo: Did the hotel request go anywhere?
• 3:13
  Maya: Van Gorder proposed adding it to the recommendation. That failed, two to three, with the chair, Vice Chair Paulina Safarian and Commissioner Jason Bennett voting no. The chair said a hotel requirement should be citywide, so neighborhoods are treated consistently. Van Gorder replied that a rule in this plan would be a stopgap until then.
• 3:33
  Theo: And what happens now?
• 3:34
  Maya: The commission's recommendation carries two additions: wording that names the scaled-back alternative as the preferred project, and annual progress reports to the City Council, an idea that came from a public commenter. The council makes the final decision. Staff said that hearing is on October twenty-seventh.
• 3:55
  Theo: Our second story is about film permits. On Tuesday the City Council heard from its Creative Industry Taskforce, a group of entertainment industry figures set up at the council's direction in June of last year.
• 4:07
  Maya: The task force made three recommendations. Make filming easier, including free film permits for a year and waived rental fees for city facilities. Create a physical creative hub for creators and companies. And hire a specialized marketing firm to pitch Burbank to creative companies.
• 4:23
  Theo: The free permits are the part with a price tag.
• 4:26
  Maya: City staff said waiving permit and facility fees would cost about four hundred eight thousand dollars a year. Staff recommended keeping the current fees for now, and said Burbank's film permit fees are the most competitive in the region and haven't been raised since 2020. The city manager said the city has a two point seven million dollar recurring deficit, and that adding to it would be significant.
• 4:52
  Theo: How did the council take that?
• 4:54
  Maya: Members split on how fast to act. Council Member Konstantine Anthony argued the concern is low-budget pilots and independent films, which shop for the cheapest location, and proposed a discounted tier for small productions. The mayor said cost is the barrier that comes up most with small and independent productions, and proposed waiving or sharply cutting fees for one-day shoots as a first step. Another council member urged waiting for tax and ballot measure results, warning that a deeper deficit could mean layoffs or cuts to other programs.
• 5:26
  Theo: Was there a worry about free permits beyond the money?
• 5:30
  Maya: Staff relayed one from the film permit office: that with no charge, productions might not apply at all. Vice Mayor Zizette Mullins suggested productions could pay up front and be reimbursed after filming, so the city still knows who is filming.
• 5:44
  Theo: And the decision?
• 5:45
  Maya: No fees changed. The council voted five to zero to have staff return in December, alongside the first-quarter budget report, with fee waiver options for a vote. Members discussed a possible January first start. Staff said work on the hub and the marketing plan continues, with a hub plan possibly in the first quarter of 2027.
• 6:10
  Theo: Now a few shorter items, all from Tuesday's council meeting. First, out of closed session: the council voted five to zero, twice, to authorize the city attorney's office to file two lawsuits with the city as plaintiff. Who the city intends to sue, and over what, was not disclosed. That is to be made public once the suits are filed.
• 6:32
  Maya: The council unanimously approved a fifty thousand dollar contract with Home Again Los Angeles to run the city's Immigration Emergency Assistance Fund. The fund gives one-time help to Burbank residents facing economic hardship directly tied to immigration enforcement: up to five hundred dollars for individuals and one thousand for families. Staff said applications open today, October first.
• 6:52
  Theo: A resident told the council his car was towed while he was traveling, under a rule against parking in one spot for more than seventy-two hours. He put the cost at a hundred seventy-five dollar fine plus seven hundred twenty-six dollars at the tow yard. Police captains said state law allows those tows, and that complaints average about two hundred fifty a month. Police staff offered to publicize the rule, and the mayor suggested an insert in Burbank Water and Power bills.
• 7:23
  Maya: And from the meeting's announcements: three local measures are on the November third ballot. Measure C would raise the hotel tax from ten percent to twelve. Measures C-C and C-D concern how council members are elected. Vote-by-mail ballots start arriving today. Separately, the planning division holds a virtual webinar on accessory dwelling unit standards next Tuesday, October sixth, at six in the evening.
• 7:50
  Maya: Before we go: if we got something wrong, there's a link on the episode's page to tell us, and corrections are read on air.
• 7:59
  Theo: The council adjourned to its next regular meeting on Tuesday, October thirteenth.
• 8:03
  Maya: That's the news from City Hall. See you after the next meeting.