Burbank Decides to Keep Rancho Area Residential

In a decision that Burbank officials hope will sit well with local horse lovers, the Burbank City Council on Tuesday voted to develop and sell custom-built homes in the Rancho community, ending the possibility of industrial development in the residential-equestrian area.

Homeowners in the area had feared that industrial projects planned for the community would diminish the rural atmosphere of the community adjacent to Griffith Park.

Most of the community is zoned for single-family residences where horses can be kept. But city zoning laws allowed for light industrial development in the district’s Mariposa Triangle along narrow Mariposa Street, one of the main access routes for horses into Griffith Park.

Susan M. Boyle, the city’s assistant community development director, said the city will now acquire 5.2 acres of the privately owned Mariposa Triangle through land swaps and purchases from property owners. The land will be subdivided, and approximately 23 custom-built homes will be developed on that property.

“I think this will end the concerns about what was going to go on that property,” Boyle said. The property will also be rezoned from light industrial to residential.

Carol Jones, a leader of the residents who opposed industrial development in the community, said the council’s action was “exactly what we wanted.”

“Everybody thinks it’s wonderful,” she said. “We don’t want our homes and our horses next door to industry.”

The light industry zones were established by a previous council specifically to accommodate commercial stables, which are not allowed in residential zones.

The council last November voted against allowing a public storage facility in the triangle, and developers were formulating plans for other non-horse-related developments.

Boyle said the custom-built homes will sell for more than $200,000.