BURBANK TRIES TO CLEAN UP CLUTTER COUNCIL TARGETS SHOPPING CARTS.

Byline: EUGENE TONG Staff Writer

BURBANK -- It's all about quality of life these days for the City Council.

The panel last week ordered city staff to draft an ordinance to crack down on the neighborhood nuisance of abandoned shopping carts and adopted ordinances outlawing animated electric signs and changing the city's billing from paper to online.

Officials estimate there are more than 6,725 shopping carts in the city, of which up to 10 percent are abandoned at any given time. But a 1997 state law makes it difficult for cities to impound loose carts. For example, city crews can't impound a cart unless it remains at the same location for 72 hours.

A city also must notify the owner within a day of the impoundment and can't levy impound fees if the cart is picked up within three days.

If the cart goes unclaimed, the city still must store it for at least 30 days before disposing it.

``You're extremely limited to what you can do,'' said Terre Hirsch, assistant community development director. ``You have to create a system of bureaucracy.''

The city of Glendale has sidestepped these restrictions by holding businesses responsible for their carts in the zoning code -- no more than five carts are allowed off a business's premises over a 24-hour period, and violations can lead to citations.

Since the ordinance took effect in January, Glendale officials have cited 94 percent compliance by businesses.

``It's working, so why not follow suit and do the same?'' Hirsch said.

Also in a 3-5 vote, the council approved a zoning amendment that would prohibit all outdoor electronic message signs -- including those that could be programmed not to blink or flash -- within city limits. Only government and schools are exempt.

The existing ordinance only prohibited signs from blinking, flashing or moving -- what they can do once they're installed. Councilman Jef Vander Borght had described them as ``garish'' and police officials have said the signs can be road hazards because they distract drivers.

But officials expect enforcement will be more difficult as technological advances and lower cost bring these signs within reach of more businesses and property owners.

The council also unanimously approved a three-year, $400,000 per year contract with Kubra Data Transfer to handle billing services for Burbank Water and Power, which includes an option for Internet billing and payment.

Monthly invoices for the city's 50,000 business and residential customers were handled in-house for about $500,000 annually, and costs are expected to rise in the next two years when aging equipment is replaced, officials said.

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

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