L.A. SEWER-LINE PLAN DISLIKED IN BURBANK SMALLER CITY CALLS FOR SOUTHERN ROUTE.

Byline: Jason Kandel Staff Writer

BURBANK - A proposed compromise on construction of a Los Angeles sewer line through Burbank is expected to be rejected by the Burbank City Council tonight because of local residents' concerns about noise, odor and traffic.

Los Angeles officials have devised a ``hybrid'' alignment for the $150 million project that they said would travel underneath fewer homes, but the Burbank council is being advised by its staff to reject that plan.

Instead, staff members want Los Angeles officials to stick with the south alignment for the project, which would go through a small corner of Burbank and would ``completely stay away from Burbank residents,'' said Rodney Andersen, Burbank's principal civil engineer.

The hybrid plan would snake under Forest Lawn Drive, a nonresidential area, and cut north under homes and businesses along the Burbank-Los Angeles border near Clybourn Avenue.

Los Angeles officials are seeking input through March 31 for a final environmental impact report on a 20-year blueprint for treatment plant expansions, added water recycling and new sewers.

At a Burbank council meeting earlier this year, Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge, whose district includes Toluca Lake, proposed the hybrid alternative to quell residents' concerns.

``We're trying to do what's best for all of us,'' LaBonge said Monday. ``I'll await what they say. No one wants anything in their neighborhood; I understand that. We're trying to balance that out.''

The proposed line is part of a plan to handle future growth. Los Angeles is also under a court order to make $2 billion in sewer upgrades to avoid overflows, such as those that occurred during the 1998 El Nio storms.

If the Los Angeles City Council approves a final environmental impact report this summer, work could begin on the project by 2010.

Jason Kandel, [phone]

jason.kandel(at)dailynews.com