BURBANK : City Will Purchase 4 Electric Buses

The Burbank City Council has agreed to buy four electric shuttle buses but denied a proposal to form a blue-ribbon committee to look into a mandatory curfew for Burbank Airport flights.

During a long meeting Tuesday, the most controversial item was Councilman George Battey’s proposal to form a committee that would recommend ways to enforce what is now a voluntary curfew from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m.

Opponents said a committee would take too much time and offer little to the debate over airport expansion.

“There have been two blue-ribbon committees and they’ve given their reports at election time (during the Feb. 28 primary) and at the Burbank town hall meeting (March 15),” said North Hollywood resident R. C. (Chappy) Czapiewski.

Battey eventually withdrew his proposal after council member-elect Robert Kramer vowed to disband the committee immediately after May 1 and other council members expressed reservations about how effective the group could be.

The council also voted unanimously to buy four new electric shuttle buses that will serve the downtown Metrolink station and the Media District by next spring.

The battery-powered buses--which emit no air pollution--will stop at studios such as Warner Bros., Disney and NBC. Entry will be offered for free to Metrolink train passengers and possibly MTA bus riders.

“We are embarking on a new, advanced mode of transportation in the city of Burbank,” said Assistant City Planner Ruth Davidson-Guerra. “This is the first use of all-electric vehicles.”

A unanimous council also gave preliminary approval to new ordinances on business permits and nightclubs. The first reduces the amount of processing time for permits from about four months to a few weeks. The other reduces regulations for restaurants that take in less than 35% of their sales from alcohol, while tightening restrictions on nightclubs.