Grand Jury Review of Redevelopment Unit : Burbank Agency Passes Scrutiny

The audit committee of the Los Angeles County Grand Jury has given “a clean bill of health” to the Burbank Redevelopment Agency, City Manager Robert (Bud) Ovrom said Tuesday, although the committee’s report criticized a lack of adequate land development planning by former Burbank administrations.

“It appears that, until recently, there was no overall plan for the orderly development of land located within the agency’s boundaries,” said the report, signed by the committee chairman, D. A. Johnson.

“Development decisions were made by the City Council on an incremental, site-specific basis without the proper attention being paid to an overall plan or assessing their cumulative impacts on the area,” the report said.

Burbank officials said they agree with the criticism and that they are trying to develop specific plans for land use and development in the Media District in downtown Burbank. Officials are considering a moratorium on major construction there while the plans are being completed.

Routine Examination

The committee in October began a review of the operations and finances of the redevelopment agency as part of a routine examination of redevelopment activities of local governments in the county.

In a letter to the county Board of Supervisors, Johnson and jury foreman Charles T. Richardson said that, because no irregularities were found, “based on the limited scope of our review, we do not believe further in-depth study is warranted.”

The committee’s report recommended that the county auditor-controller develop guidelines for Burbank and other cities in preparing financial statements on redevelopment projects.

Ovrom and Mayor Mary Lou Howard both said they were pleased with the committee’s report. “They were right, because in previous administrations there wasn’t any planning,” Howard said. “But we’re serious about planning now.”