APARTMENT PLAN IRKS NEIGHBORS.

Byline: Lee Condon Daily News Staff Writer

Residents are expected to crowd a Burbank City Council meeting tonight to fight a developer's attempt to build a new 21-unit apartment complex in the Rancho West neighborhood.

The residents are fighting a proposal by GC Enterprises, claiming the project has changed substantially since it was first approved by a previous council in 1991. And they are upset that city officials approved the changes without requiring the developer to come back to the City Council.

Helen Whelchel, one of the residents leading the fight, said Rancho West residents prefer condominiums because owners - rather than renters - would have a larger stake in the neighborhood.

``The homeowners are going to stay there and have an interest in the neighborhood,'' Whelchel said. ``If you're in a real nice neighborhood, having an apartment house near your home devalues your property.''

The residents won the first round of their battle in August when the city's Planning Board unanimously threw out the staff's approval of the change from condominiums to apartments.

GC Enterprises is expected to appeal that decision to the Burbank City Council tonight, asking that the administrative changes be reinstated. Steve Geiger, the developer and Michael Chan, the architect on the project, could not be reached for comment.

The City Hall staff has recommended that the council rule in favor of the developers.

Burbank Councilman Ted McConkey said the changes should not have been approved administratively by staffers.

``That is not the way it should be done. It's far too important to have a bureaucrat do in secret what should have been done in public by the City Council,'' McConkey said. ``This is a controversial project approved by a previous City Council. In its current state the project is totally incompatible with that neighborhood, which is surrounded by tasteful condos and single-family homes.''

The new complex, which would be located south of NBC Studios at the northwest corner of Niagra Street and Riverside Drive, would replace bungalow apartments there now.