BURBANK ENDORSES HOUSING PLAN WITH DAY CARE FACILITY.

Byline: Mary Lou Aurelio Daily News Staff Writer

Critically short of child care in many areas, the City Council agreed Tuesday to go forward with development of an affordable housing complex that includes a day care center in an area the council is trying to revitalize.

Last year, the council asked city staffers to find a site for a housing complex with a day care center near Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, an area called the Golden State neighborhood.

``That's an area that the city is working to revitalize, where there is a lot of housing stock in poor condition,'' said Jack Lynch, the city's housing development manager for the project.

The city chose a site in the 2200 block of Ontario Street for the proposed project. The city also determined that the area is short on child care services for the families who live there.

According to a study by Childcare Consulting Services, which was hired by the city, there are nearly 1,000 prekindergarten-age children who potentially need child care within a mile radius of that location.

Citywide, even with existing child care services, there is an unmet need for day care for 4,193 preschoolers.

Of those, 2,301 are infants to 2 years old, and there is only one publicly available facility, Horace Mann Center, that offers infant and toddler care.

Counsel member Ted McConkey, who is part of a policy group studying the matter, said he supports the project but warned ``no one should be lulled into thinking this is going to solve the child care problem in Burbank.''

Robert Tague, the city community development director, said the Housing and Child Care Center Demonstration Project will help with the city's beautification efforts in the Golden State neighborhood. Burbank has been working to revitalize the area around the airport, generally from Empire Avenue to Ontario Street and from Thornton Avenue to Naomi Street.

``I think one of the great things about this project is that it allows us to combine day care, affordable housing and the revitalization of a low-income neighborhood.''

He said the housing component will include about 60 condominiums or town homes, to encourage ownership by low-income families, and the day care center that will accommodate 100 children. It will be open to nonresidents, as well.

The plan envisions a project partially funded by the city and by a consortium of developers, Tague said.

Mayor David Golonski cautioned that the center must be accessible to the community.

``We are not solving any of the problems by building a center that our neighborhood can't afford. Our goal is helping to provide affordable child care.''

The city plans to encourage developers to include child care facilities in new commercial, industrial and residential projects in order to alleviate the shortage. Tague cited Warner Bros. and The Walt Disney Co., which have taken note of child care services in their developments, as good examples.