Library builder hired, union labor deal required; airport-area hotel advances

A public hearing on Project No. 16-0003953. The applicant wants to build a new seven-story, 420-room hotel under two brands (Aloft for regular stays and Residence Inn for extended stays) and a separate four-story parking garage. Both would go on surface parking at the existing Marriott hotel and convention center, which would stay open. The site is 11.76 acres bounded by Thornton Avenue, Hollywood Way and Avon Street, across from Hollywood Burbank Airport, and is designated Regional Commercial. The commission was asked to recommend that the City Council approve a Planned Development (site-specific zoning), a ten-year Development Agreement and Development Review. It was also asked to recommend that the Council certify the Final Environmental Impact Report, adopt a mitigation monitoring program and adopt a Statement of Overriding Considerations. That statement is required because, according to staff, three impact areas stay significant and unavoidable even with mitigation: greenhouse gas emissions, construction noise, and the construction noise tied to utility work. The City Council makes the final decision. Speakers were split: union and tenant-group speakers asked for a housing component and stronger emissions and transit measures, while business, labor and hotel-employee speakers backed the project. 00:10:08

▶ Hear it Can workers count on a permanent transit subsidy? · 0:49

• A commissioner moved to recommend that the City Council approve Project No. 16-0003953 by certifying the Final EIR, adopting the mitigation monitoring program with a Statement of Overriding Considerations and the CEQA findings, and adopting an ordinance approving the Planned Development, Development Agreement and Development Review. The motion amended conditions of approval 16 and 24 to raise the renewable energy share from 10% to 11%, and let the city attorney make editorial clarifications on the project's scope. A commissioner seconded. Result: passed, 5-0. 02:21:39

• City staff said the commission last heard the project in January 2025, during the public comment period on the draft environmental report 00:12:14
• City staff described the site as already holding a nine-story, 488-room Marriott hotel, a convention center and surface parking 00:14:14
• City staff said the new seven-story hotel would have 420 rooms, 203 under the Aloft brand and 217 under Residence Inn, in a building about 83 to 84 feet tall 00:15:15
• City staff said the new garage would be valet-only, holding 673 cars normally and up to 766 during larger events, with another 285 surface spaces, and that a parking study found the parking sufficient 00:16:18
• City staff listed the development agreement's community benefits: $30,000 each for future fire and police equipment 00:17:18
• City staff said the benefits also include money for a neighborhood protection and traffic-calming plan, $80,000 for Burbank Bus operations and $20,000 for Metrolink station maintenance, and put the total value at about $1.1 million 00:18:19
• City staff said three impact areas remain significant and unavoidable: greenhouse gas emissions, construction noise, and utilities and service systems 00:19:22
• City staff clarified that the utilities finding is about construction noise from infrastructure work, not a lack of utility capacity 00:19:22
• City staff said Los Angeles County airport land use commission staff found the project consistent with the county's airport land use plan on August 12, 2026 00:21:27
• City staff said staff does not expect a significant negative effect on the city's general fund 00:21:27
• City staff said hearing notices were mailed to owners and occupants within 1,000 feet of the site 00:22:28
• A guest presenter said the project has been ten years in the making 00:24:17
• A guest presenter said the building would be 84 feet tall, 33 feet below the maximum allowed on the site 00:25:21
• A guest presenter claimed it would be the first new all-electric hotel in Burbank 00:26:24
• A guest presenter said more than 36,000 square feet of solar panels are proposed on the garage roof 00:29:35
• A guest presenter projected about $2.6 million in hotel tax revenue in the first full year of occupancy, and more than $123 million over thirty years 00:33:05
• A guest presenter estimated more than $12 million in fees, offsets and community benefit funding, and said the project would upgrade more than 1,500 linear feet of sewer line 00:33:48
• A guest presenter described a planned partnership with the nonprofit Home Again LA to provide temporary bridge stays for families in its program 00:34:51
• A guest presenter said a partnership with the Western States Carpenters would ensure the project is built with union labor 00:34:51
• A guest presenter said the client would invest more than $200 million in the project 00:35:59
• City staff responded to calls for housing by saying the site is not one of the six or seven housing element opportunity sites in the Golden State area, though housing is not ruled out there 01:16:10
• City staff said the applicant is a hotel developer whose stated project objective was a hotel 01:18:17
• City staff defended counting hotel guests in the greenhouse gas service population as a city policy allowed by the municipal code, because guests use energy and water as residents do 01:19:23
• City staff recommended amending the condition on renewable power from 10% to 11% so it matches the environmental report 01:20:24
• A guest presenter said the applicant is open to further talks with staff about strengthening the transit subsidy before the Council hearing 01:21:45
• A guest presenter argued that adding housing would require an entirely different financing structure, which the applicant believes is not possible in today's market 01:22:46
• A speaker said, as the applicant's land use counsel, that the applicant accepts the change to 11% 01:24:15
• A speaker criticized the two long opposition letters submitted that day as a disfavored tactic 01:24:15
• A speaker argued that since hotel guests generate emissions, counting them in the service population keeps the per-person calculation balanced 01:26:19
• A speaker said the project does not rely on a private 1997 parking agreement with the neighboring office parcel, and that all its parking is on the hotel parcel or off-site for special events 01:28:29
• A speaker asked whether the community benefits were requested by the city or offered by the applicant 01:30:42
• City staff said the benefits were city requests, calculated as fair-share contributions for each area, modeled on earlier agreements such as 77 Front Street and Avion 01:32:35
• A speaker objected to making developers pay for improvements he believes the city should fund, especially when the hotel will also generate tax revenue 01:33:04
• A speaker explained, as a senior transportation planner, that the transit pass figures come from the city's transportation demand management ordinance and that the applicant's enrollment is voluntary 01:36:06
• A commissioner said impact fees are standard and paid by everyone, even people building ADUs 01:36:21
• A commissioner asked whether staff coordinated with the airport land use commission, which was raised in one letter 01:36:57
• City staff confirmed that with the required sewer upgrades there would be enough capacity for the project 01:38:01
• City staff said current zoning does not allow housing on the site, but the general plan designation allows a density he believed to be 58 units per acre 01:39:05
• A commissioner raised a concern that under state no-net-loss law, approving a project with no housing would mean upzoning elsewhere to make up the lost capacity 01:40:55
• City staff said the underlying density capacity on the site would not be removed, that nearby parcels are proposed for upzoning to about 120 units per acre, and that the general plan projected no new homes in the airport district by 2035 01:41:39
• A speaker asked how the city's housing projections would lower the citywide three-to-one jobs-to-housing ratio 01:43:29
• City staff said the housing element plans for more than 10,000 units against a regional allocation of 8,772, and that the three specific plans together are being studied for up to about 16,000 units citywide 01:44:48
• City staff said the agreement would lock in building rights for up to ten years, though the applicant intends to build within two to three, with impact fees due before building permits 01:46:57
• City staff described the community benefits as negotiated in exchange for the longer term and the locked-in rules the agreement gives the developer 01:48:32
• A speaker said a non-CEQA traffic study found no significant intersection impacts except a slight delay increase at one intersection that would occur even without the project, later corrected to Hollywood Way and Victory Boulevard 01:53:18
• A speaker said a construction management plan required by the conditions would address haul routes and staging 01:52:46
• A commissioner declined to carry the hearing over to another meeting when the time limit was raised 01:54:57
• A commissioner asked the applicant for a firm guarantee that the transit subsidy would be a permanent employee benefit 01:55:08
• A guest presenter declined to commit on the spot, saying the commitment would last in perpetuity, but offered good-faith talks with staff 01:55:36
• A guest presenter said Home Again LA suggested drafting an MOU with the hotel once construction begins 01:56:25
• A commissioner noted that earlier public comments almost all asked for housing 01:56:59
• A guest presenter said the client's preliminary search found no lenders interested in financing a version with housing 01:59:06
• A guest presenter said the 420-room count came from the existing hotel's data and from market analysis by the developer and Marriott 02:00:24
• City staff said citywide hotel occupancy is above 70% but not quite 80% 02:02:19
• City staff said staff hopes to bring the Golden State Specific Plan to the commission in the second quarter of next year, after its draft environmental report is completed in the first quarter 02:02:58
• A guest presenter said the existing Marriott runs about 81% occupancy and regularly turns away large group bookings 02:03:40
• A guest presenter said the applicant hopes to break ground about a year after approval, which is too late to open before the Olympics 02:05:13
• City staff cited a citywide average daily room rate of $184.28 as of August 2026, from the city's economic development staff 02:06:35
• A speaker argued the development should not be penalized for how guests choose to travel to it, and called city-based greenhouse gas targets flawed 02:07:51
• A speaker argued it is the landowner's right, not the commission's, to decide to build a hotel 02:08:55
• A commissioner backed the project, saying financing drives what gets built, and praised the employee benefits and the union labor 02:09:51
• A commissioner backed the project, citing the city's budget deficit and the projected hotel tax revenue, while urging a stronger transit subsidy 02:11:03
• A commissioner said he wished the project had included something on housing, such as an in-lieu fee 02:13:44
• A commissioner suggested earmarking some of the projected hotel tax revenue for housing needs, while saying he supports the project and its union labor 02:15:48
• A speaker supported the project, saying the housing shortfall can be made up elsewhere in the city 02:16:36
• City staff pointed to the needed changes to conditions 16 and 24 (raising the renewable energy share from 10% to 11%) and asked permission to clarify the attachments to show the approval covers part of the existing planned development zone 02:17:13

Under Reports to Commission, staff previewed the next meeting's agenda. 02:21:52

• A speaker said the October 26 meeting is expected to take up a conditional use permit and development review for a children's play center at 330 North San Fernando Boulevard, and the return of the downtown specific plan policy document for further study 02:22:21

Routine approval of the minutes from the commission's September 28, 2026 meeting. 02:22:50

• A speaker moved to adopt the minutes of the September 28, 2026 meeting; the seconder was not identified. Result: passed. 02:23:17

• General oral communications: four speakers, most identifying with the Burbank Tenants Union or Unite Here Local 11. All urged the commission not to recommend the hotel as proposed, or to send it back for a hotel-and-housing alternative. They cited the housing element's nearly three-to-one jobs-to-housing imbalance and the estimate of only 85 jobs from 420 rooms. One pointed to the Front Street project as an example of combining hotel rooms and apartments.
• Hearing on the hotel: about 18 speakers, 17 in person and one by phone.
• About six speakers opposed the project as proposed or asked for changes. Most were affiliated with Unite Here Local 11, including an attorney for the union. They argued the environmental report understates greenhouse gas emissions by counting 588 hotel guests in the service population. They also said it wrongly rejects a hotel-and-housing alternative and defers trip-reduction mitigation without monitoring. They criticized the transit subsidy as covering only 75% of a monthly pass, on request, for at most 20% of employees (about 17 workers), and as able to end after a one-week survey. They also said the conditions require less solar and a lower green-building tier than the report assumes. They asked for fully paid transit passes, guest transit incentives, ongoing monitoring, and a recirculated analysis.
• About 12 speakers supported the project. They included three Western States Regional Council of Carpenters representatives, who cited union jobs and apprenticeships; the Burbank Chamber of Commerce's chair and its CEO, who cited tourism, hotel tax revenue and the convention center losing large events for lack of rooms; three current hotel employees, who described their employer as treating them like family; and entertainment-industry workers and a caller, who said visiting productions need more lodging. The caller also argued the site is better suited to commercial use than housing.
• Written comment: staff said letters came in with the agenda packet, in a supplemental, and in person that night. The applicant's counsel described two long opposition letters submitted that day, one from a law firm for Unite Here and one written on behalf of the neighboring office building's owner, which raised a private parking agreement and the airport land use commission.

• The City Council will make the final decision on the hotel project and its environmental report. No hearing date was given.
• The applicant said it would continue talks with staff about strengthening the employee transit subsidy between the commission and Council hearings.
• The applicant said it would draft an MOU with Home Again LA once the hotel is under construction.
• The city attorney was allowed to make editorial clarifications to the resolution and ordinance on the project's scope, as part of the existing planned development zone.
• The Golden State Specific Plan's draft EIR is targeted for the first quarter of next year, with a commission recommendation hearing hoped for in the second quarter.
• The October 26, 2026 commission meeting is expected to take up a conditional use permit and development review for a children's play center at 330 North San Fernando Boulevard, and the return of the downtown specific plan policy document.
• The applicant expects to break ground about a year after approval.

Announcements read at the start of the meeting on the November 3 election: the vote-by-mail registration deadline is Monday, October 19, and vote centers open October 24 and October 31. Burbank voters will decide three local measures. Measure C would raise the hotel tax, which visitors pay, from 10% to 12%, and the announcement said it could bring in about $3 million a year for city services. Measure CC would amend the city charter to allow more flexibility in election methods. Measure CD asks whether council elections should switch from citywide (at-large) to by-district. 00:09:58

• A speaker announced that the vote-by-mail registration deadline for the November 3 election is Monday, October 19 00:09:58
• A speaker described Measure C as a city services measure that would raise the hotel tax from 10% to 12%, estimated to bring in about $3 million a year 00:11:03
• A speaker explained that Measure CD asks voters whether to move from at-large to by-district council elections, and that Measure CC would amend the charter 00:12:05

The mayor proclaimed October 18–24, 2026, as a week honoring the registered veterinary technicians at the Burbank Animal Shelter, who care for stray, injured and shelter animals. 00:12:57

The mayor proclaimed October 18–24, 2026, as United Against Hate Week, recognizing the Burbank Human Relations Council and the Burbank Unified superintendent. 00:17:39

The mayor proclaimed October 2026 as Domestic Violence Awareness Month, recognizing the Family Service Agency of Burbank. The two council members on the Domestic Violence Task Force joined the presentation. 00:20:15

Certificates went to Burbank High and John Burroughs High for the 2026 Clerk's Cup, a contest between the two high schools, run by the city and Burbank Unified, to see which can preregister more students to vote. 00:24:02

• Kimberley Clark (City Clerk) announced that John Burroughs High School keeps the trophy for the 2026 Clerk's Cup 00:26:25

California Public Policy Group, the city's Sacramento lobbyists, reviewed the 2026 legislative session. Topics included housing bills, data-center bills that affect water planning at Burbank Water and Power, wildfire liability, e-bike rules, extra time to answer public records requests, the state budget, $1.2 million in state money for the Burbank Reservoir and firefighter protective-gear storage, and what they expect in 2027. 00:29:54

• A speaker flagged two data-center bills requiring water assessments before any data-center permit, which the firm said are the main ones affecting local agencies 00:32:25
• A speaker said she understood council would get an early staff report on data centers in December 00:33:25
• A speaker noted a new law that changes the deadline for answering public records requests from ten days to ten business days 00:38:17
• A speaker said a pension bill letting safety officers retire at 55 failed but is expected back in January 00:38:17
• A speaker reported the city took positions on 28 bills and the final result matched the city's position 61% of the time 00:39:19
• A speaker said the state budget includes $1.2 million for the Burbank Reservoir and for storage of firefighter protective equipment 00:41:22
• Konstantine Anthony (Council Member) asked whether any other state tax credit program is uncapped, in light of the attorney general's push to uncap the film and TV tax credit 00:46:17
• A speaker asked which legislator might carry a bill to expand the film tax credit 00:47:03
• Zizette Mullins (Council Member; Vice Mayor) asked whether the state has done anything about high utility costs for consumers 00:48:37
• A council member asked whether the police department had been briefed on the new state e-bike definitions 00:51:17

After general public comment, staff and council responded to several topics. They covered how authors are chosen for the Burbank Book Festival, including a rule that kept out self-published authors. They covered a recent change that puts only eComment submissions, not emails, in the official meeting record. And they covered where things stand on a possible living-wage push for workers at the airport, which a separate authority runs. 01:41:12

• City staff reported that the book festival drew over 5,300 visitors 01:41:41
• City staff said 159 authors applied and 80 were chosen, limited by space at the library 01:41:41
• City staff confirmed that self-published authors were not accepted under current criteria and said a staff committee could change that 01:42:43
• City staff said the library rarely buys self-published books because they usually lack professional reviews, but accepts donations from local authors 01:45:10
• A council member asked whether the festival could be held twice a year 01:46:11
• City staff said the Friends of the Library paid for the festival apart from staff time 01:46:31
• Konstantine Anthony (Council Member) said his personal online comments are separate from the city's official social media 01:48:18
• Konstantine Anthony (Council Member) said he had not known about the change limiting written comments in the record 01:48:18
• A council member asked whether emails about agenda items are still uploaded to the meeting record 01:54:37
• The city clerk said the city manager's office told her only eComments would be included in the record from now on 01:54:47
• City staff explained the change as an effort to put written comments in one paid software system, because sorting emails, faxes and drop-offs was hard on staff 01:55:37
• City staff offered to look at how Glendale and Pasadena handle it but said the city can't go back to the old way 01:56:37
• City staff said the meeting record is for agenda items, not for all correspondence council receives 01:58:23
• A council member said she also wants to know how many at-fault and no-fault evictions there are 01:59:57
• A council member said she did not know about the Bible verse on the jail wall and wants to follow up 02:02:07
• A council member said she understood the airport authority had told its attorney to work with the city attorney on a resolution 02:02:58
• City staff disagreed with that description, saying airport commissioners asked their own staff for an employee census and the council had asked for a local wage survey 02:03:34
• City staff said he wrote to the airport authority that its data would be useful to the city 02:04:38

Five routine items passed in one vote: council and Housing Authority minutes, a resolution reaffirming the 1983 sister-city tie with Ota City, Japan, acceptance of a $468,181.81 federal Assistance to Firefighters grant with a matching budget change, and a 36-month lease for a suite at 303 N. Glenoaks Boulevard. The fire chief said the grant pays for paramedic training. 02:05:33

• A council member moved to approve the consent calendar as presented; seconded. Result: passed, 5-0. 02:10:48

• A council member moved the consent calendar and asked the fire chief to explain the grant 02:07:09
• A speaker said that as far as he knew, this is the first grant the department has received for paramedic training 02:07:32
• A speaker said the grant lets the department keep sending firefighters to paramedic school so paramedic vacancies don't climb again 02:07:32
• A council member asked the department to report back on how many people the grant trains 02:10:04

The council, sitting with the Housing Authority, filled one city seat on the Burbank Housing Corporation board, whose mission is affordable housing in Burbank. Three people applied, including the board member who held the seat. He spoke in public comment, asked to be reappointed, and was reappointed. 02:10:48

• Show-of-hands vote among the applicants. Result: passed, 5-0. 02:15:31

• Kimberley Clark (City Clerk) reported three applications for the seat 02:12:47

The council filled a vacancy on the Cultural Arts Commission, left by a commissioner's resignation, for a term ending July 31, 2029. Four people applied. The appointee had introduced himself during general public comment. 02:15:42

• Show-of-hands vote among the applicants. Result: passed, 5-0. 02:17:29

• The city clerk said the vacancy came from a commissioner's resignation and that four applications were received 02:15:57

The council filled a vacancy on the Sustainable Burbank Commission, left by a resignation, for a term ending July 31, 2029. Three applicants were considered after a fourth withdrew. Two of them spoke in public comment, and a general contractor who has lived in Burbank since 1995 was appointed. 02:17:44

• Show-of-hands vote among the applicants. Result: passed, 5-0. 02:25:03

• The city clerk noted that one applicant withdrew after the staff report went out 02:18:05
• A council member urged applicants who weren't chosen to contact council members ahead of time if they apply again 02:26:09
• A council member encouraged applicants who weren't chosen to attend and comment at commission meetings anyway 02:26:58

The council approved a progressive design-build contract with Clark Construction Group – California, LP, working with architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, to design and build a new central library and civic center across the street from the current library. Staff described about 97,500 square feet of library and city offices, a garage of about 310 spaces, and about 43,000 square feet of open space. The design-build contract is estimated at $155 million, and staff put the total project at about $185–190 million. Construction would be paid for with a lease revenue bond, with the debt repaid from the city's municipal infrastructure fund, which draws on Measure P. The target opening is spring 2029. After a long debate, the council added a requirement that Clark negotiate a project labor agreement with the building trades before any construction starts, and asked for a cost update in January 2027. Clark estimated a union-labor premium of 2–3%, and the finance director put that at roughly $3.1–4.6 million. The final guaranteed maximum price will come back to council for approval. 02:26:58

▶ Hear it Is a $4.6 million union-labor premium nominal? · 1:02

• A speaker moved to adopt the resolution approving the progressive design-build contract with Clark Construction Group – California, LP for the Burbank Library and Civic Center project, including entering into a project labor agreement with the LA/OC Building Trades, with a cost and deliverables update to council in January 2027, and authorizing the Library Services Director, as the City Manager's designee, to execute the agreement and future task orders or amendments if funds are budgeted; seconded by a council member. Result: passed, 5-0. 04:16:11

• City staff said voters backed the project in 2003 and a new central library is long overdue 02:28:06
• City staff described a building of about 97,500 square feet that would house the library and city offices 02:29:12
• The city's project manager put the design-build contract at an estimated $155 million and the total project at about $185–190 million including soft costs 02:29:46
• The city's project manager gave the target opening as spring 2029 and noted the project was once studied as a public-private partnership 02:30:47
• The city's project manager explained that a guaranteed maximum price will come back to council next summer for the full construction contract 02:31:49
• City staff proposed moving the farmers market to the City Hall parking lot during construction and back onto the new plaza afterward 02:38:25
• The city's project manager said the selection panel unanimously chose the Clark and SOM team 02:41:27
• The city's project manager said the team expects to hold at least four community town halls on the design 02:45:14
• A guest presenter estimated a project labor agreement would add roughly 2% to 3% to the cost 02:49:59
• City staff said the library is not covered by the citywide labor agreement now being developed unless council amends this contract 02:50:36
• A speaker reported that the citywide labor agreement effort has started, with an attorney reviewing the union's template 02:51:09
• Konstantine Anthony (Council Member) asked whether the decision could come back in two weeks on consent instead of being made that night 02:53:44
• City staff urged a decision that night, saying delay costs money on this project 02:54:06
• City staff said the library does not need to wait for a citywide community workforce agreement 02:55:07
• City staff read possible contract language requiring the design-builder to negotiate a project labor agreement before any construction 02:56:54
• A council member objected that the staff report said nothing about a labor agreement or its cost, so the issue was new to her 02:58:52
• City staff said the contract issued to bidders in May had no labor agreement because staff had no such direction then 03:00:42
• City staff said staff recommended adopting the agreement as written and called the labor agreement a policy decision for council 03:04:20
• A speaker said council members had pointed to the library during the August labor-agreement discussion as a project they expected to be covered 03:04:48
• A guest presenter said requiring union labor would keep non-union subcontractors who pay prevailing wage from bidding 03:06:39
• A guest presenter cited a current $130 million project, built union without a labor agreement, where the premium was about 1.5% 03:12:39
• A council member said the public should be able to review a cost of up to $4.6 million before it's approved, and asked for the full financing breakdown 03:14:54
• Konstantine Anthony (Council Member) asked whether a later citywide labor agreement would apply retroactively to this contract 03:18:27
• City staff answered that a citywide labor agreement would not be applied to existing contracts 03:18:53
• City staff said pre-construction costs are covered by $10 million from the municipal infrastructure fund, matched by a $10 million state grant, plus other city funds 03:20:25
• City staff stressed that the pre-construction phase uses no general fund money 03:21:26
• City staff said construction would be financed with a lease revenue bond, with debt service paid from the infrastructure fund rather than the general fund 03:21:26
• City staff described the 3% figure as the city's maximum likely exposure 03:24:28
• City staff said the added debt service would equal roughly one small capital project a year over the life of the loan 03:26:44
• The city's project manager said $4.6 million equals about 3,800 square feet of building at about $1,200 per square foot 03:28:44
• The city's project manager noted the project carries a $15 million city-side contingency that could cover the cost, though he'd rather not use it this early 03:29:46
• The city's project manager estimated delay costs at about $750,000 a month, based on roughly 5% yearly construction cost escalation 03:33:25
• Zizette Mullins (Council Member; Vice Mayor) said she felt held hostage by being asked to choose between cost and delay on information she had just received 03:36:06
• The city's project manager said a January update, at the end of the design workshops, would come early enough to decide on labor terms 03:40:56
• A council member said his main concern is avoiding a strike or work stoppage, which he understood costs more than other delays 03:43:49
• The city's project manager said no subcontractors would be hired by January, so adding a labor requirement then wouldn't delay the project 03:46:07
• A guest presenter pointed to the Garden Grove civic center, a similar project Clark recently finished under a labor agreement 03:46:57
• City staff explained that the first option would require Clark to sign a labor agreement with the trades before any construction, while letting design proceed now 03:47:54
• A speaker argued skilled union labor protects quality and safety, telling of a family member shocked by bad wiring in an apartment built without union labor 03:51:32
• A speaker said she wants Clark to negotiate a labor agreement with the building trades now 03:52:32
• A speaker said, for the building trades, that a project labor agreement is the only legal way to require local hiring on union projects 04:00:55
• A speaker said non-union contractors can still bid on public projects under a labor agreement 04:01:58
• City staff offered to add local-hire provisions alongside the no-strike clause in the required labor agreement language 04:09:59
• A council member noted the contract caps the final guaranteed maximum price at $155 million, and asked whether the council could amend that figure if needed 04:13:05
• City staff explained the city dropped the public-private partnership approach in November 2024 because developers could not make it pencil out 04:14:07

The council set the salary for a new entry-level accounting technician job, meant to let the finance department hire recent accounting graduates who lack the experience the accountant job requires, and approved the citywide salary schedule. Staff gave the proposed range as $5,240.46 to about $7,224 a month. Pay items used to go on consent. Outside counsel advised listing them as reports so the city meets CalPERS pension requirements. 04:16:32

• A council member moved to adopt the resolution establishing the salary for the accounting technician classification and the resolution approving the citywide salary schedule; seconded. Result: passed, 5-0. 04:27:11

• City staff explained that, on outside counsel's advice, pay items now go on the agenda as reports to meet CalPERS requirements 04:17:14
• City staff gave the proposed monthly salary range, based on a survey of comparable jobs at other agencies 04:18:18
• City staff responded to a commenter that council pay is already at the maximum state law allows 04:20:32
• City staff said the job is meant to hire accounting graduates straight out of school so they can work up through the accountant series 04:23:54

Council members reported on events and meetings since the last meeting. These included previews and the October 5 grand opening of the airport's replacement passenger terminal, the Smokehouse restaurant's 80th anniversary, a Home Again LA luncheon where the mayor gave out a key to the city, and committee meetings. 04:27:23

• A speaker reported attending the YMCA mural unveiling for Hispanic Heritage Month and the airport terminal events 04:28:04
• Christopher Rizzotti (Council Member) noted the Metro San Fernando Valley Service Council meeting was canceled again and said he would look into it 04:30:46
• Christopher Rizzotti (Council Member) said he met with the police chief about license plate readers and credited them with recovering a stolen purse 04:31:48
• A council member said the Fiscal and Treasurer's Review Group's presentation will come to council in two weeks 04:32:19
• A council member described presenting a surprise key to the city at the Home Again LA Empty Bowl luncheon 04:38:02

Council members asked staff for follow-up information on topics raised during the meeting: four-wheeled delivery cargo bikes on city streets, how Glendale and Pasadena handle written public comments, how authors are chosen for the book festival, and the Bible verse on the city jail wall. 04:39:21

• A council member asked for a police memo on whether four-wheeled Amazon cargo bikes are street legal, after nearly hitting one on Hollywood Way 04:40:21
• A council member asked for a short report on how Glendale and Pasadena include emailed comments with agenda items 04:41:23
• A council member asked for a memo on how book festival authors are selected 04:42:00
• A council member asked for a memo on the Bible verse in the jail, including its history 04:42:00

• General public comment: the clerk counted 18 in-person cards and two remote callers. One card holder did not appear.
• Housing and rent: two speakers pressed for rent stabilization or a rent cap, citing Santa Barbara's recently passed 3% cap and complaining that Burbank's tenant-protection discussion keeps getting delayed to next year. A housing provider argued more rent control would push small landlords to sell, citing a rise in multiunit properties for sale. Another speaker asked for data on at-fault and no-fault evictions.
• Election politics: two speakers argued over the Democratic Socialists of America, one defending the group and one attacking it. A third speaker endorsed the attack and urged early voting. Another speaker criticized a political group's endorsements of council candidates. One speaker complained that election signs were put on his property without permission.
• Library labor: two general-comment speakers, an electrical union member and a regional labor-advocacy group, asked that the new library be built under the city's planned project labor or workforce agreement. A library board trustee spoke in support of the progressive design-build approach.
• Book festival: one independent author asked that self-published authors be allowed into the Burbank Book Festival, and a second speaker backed her.
• Written comments: one speaker asked council to agendize the change that keeps emailed comments out of the official record and limits eComments to 3,000 characters with no attachments, comparing Glendale, Pasadena and Los Angeles.
• Airport workers: one caller again urged council to meet with the airport authority on a living wage and job security for airport workers.
• Other topics: a speaker who toured the city jail objected to a Bible verse posted on its wall. Others announced a No Kings Day rally, Burbank Community Band Halloween and Veterans Day concerts, and a local theater production. One speaker raised condo mortgage insurance rules, and another described job worries among entertainment workers after the Skydance merger.
• Board and commission appointments: one applicant for the Cultural Arts Commission spoke during general comment. On the Housing Corporation item, the incumbent board member asked to be reappointed. On the Sustainable Burbank item, two applicants described their experience.
• Library item: a plumbers and pipefitters union representative asked council to amend the contract to include a community workforce agreement, citing the airport terminal project.
• Salary item: one speaker urged council to consider raising council members' pay, saying they earn under $2,100 a month.

• Library and civic center: design workshops with Clark/SOM start in early November. Staff will return in January 2027 with a design and cost update, including the effect of the project labor agreement and possible trade-offs. Further updates will come through 2027, and the guaranteed maximum price amendment is expected next summer. Clark must negotiate a project labor agreement before any construction. Abatement and demolition could start in spring. At least four community town halls are planned. The target opening is spring 2029.
• Citywide project labor/community workforce agreement: staff is reviewing the union template and procuring outside counsel.
• Requested memos and reports: police on four-wheeled cargo bikes; how Glendale and Pasadena handle written public comments; how book festival authors are selected; the Bible verse in the city jail.
• The lobbyist said a staff report on data centers is expected in December.
• The Fiscal and Treasurer's Review Group presentation is expected at council in about two weeks.
• The city manager said a council pay item would return, he believed, in June.
• Airport authority staff are compiling an employee census, and the council previously asked for a local wage survey; no deadline was given.
• Election: vote-by-mail registration deadline October 19; 11-day vote center opens October 24; 4-day vote centers open October 31; election November 3.
• Adjourned to a special meeting Thursday, October 15, 2026, at the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport, 2500 N. Hollywood Way.