Burbank is a city in the southeastern end of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located 7 miles (11 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles, Burbank has a population of 107,337. The city was named after David Burbank, who established a sheep ranch there in 1867. Burbank consists of two distinct areas: a downtown/foothill section, in the foothills of the Verdugo Mountains, and the flatland section.
Burbank, like other cities in California, has been facing many economic, political and social challenges in recent years. One of the main issues is the lack of affordable housing in the city. The cost of single-family homes in Burbank topped $1 million by early 2021. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the average rent price in Burbank is around $1,800 and 29% of Burbank residents spend over half of their income on rent. These high housing costs are putting a strain on many residents, and as a result, a rent-control ordinance known as Measure RC was put on the ballot in 2021 to cap rent increases at 7% annually on at least 24,000 residential units; the measure failed to pass 36 to 64%. California law bars communities in the state from putting rent control on complexes built after February 1995. Rising housing costs in California in the last decade have contributed to a shortage of affordable housing in large metropolitan areas. Rent control is seen as a way to keep housing costs affordable but some economists have suggested ordinances limiting rent only contribute to California’s chronic housing problem.
The city’s namesake street, Burbank Boulevard, started getting a makeover in 2007. The city spent upwards of $10 million to plant palm trees and colorful flowers, a median, new lights, benches and bike racks. Additionally, various utility boxes throughout the city were painted in 2020 with original art inspired by the theme of “A World of Entertainment.” Artists were selected through a committee consisting of City of Burbank representatives and members of art communities.
Today, an estimated 100,000 people work in Burbank. The physical imprints of the city’s aviation industry remain. In late 2001, the Burbank Empire Center opened with aviation as the theme. The center, built at a cost of $250 million by Zelman Development Company, sits on Empire Avenue, the former site of Lockheed’s top-secret “Skunk Works”, and other Lockheed properties.
In a real estate deal announced in April 2019 Warner Bros. plans to open a series of two new Frank Gehry-designed office towers near the former NBC Studios lot that have been described as “like icebergs floating alongside the 134 freeway.”
