Burbank Municipal Code Div. 10 Residential Condominium Conversions, Community Apartment or Stock…

The purpose of this division is to establish standards, criteria, regulations and definitions in addition to the requirements of Title 11 of this Code relating to subdivisions as follows:

A. To ensure that residential rental units being converted to condominiums, community apartment or stock cooperative projects meet reasonable physical standards as required by this chapter and building codes of the City in effect at the time of conversion.

B. To help mitigate the impact of eviction for residents of rental units being converted to condominiums, community apartment or stock cooperative projects.

C. To promote the concept of home ownership and to bring a greater amount of owner-occupied housing on the market affordable by all economic segments of the community, thus encouraging participation in the various economic and social benefits associated with home ownership. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74; Renumbered by Ord. No. 3058, eff. 2/21/87; 2830.]

CONDOMINIUM: As used in this division, CONDOMINIUM is an estate in real property consisting of an undivided interest in common in a portion of a parcel of real property together with a separate interest in space in a residential building constructed originally on such real property as an apartment for occupancy by a tenant or tenants pursuant to a rental or lease agreement. Such estate may, with respect to the duration of its enjoyment, be either 1) an estate of inheritance or perpetual estate, 2) an estate for life, or 3) an estate for years, such as leasehold or a subleasehold.

CC&Rs: As used in this division, CC&Rs shall mean the declaration of covenants, conditions and restrictions required by State law.

ASSOCIATION: As used in this division, ASSOCIATION means an organization composed of condominium owners.

COMMUNITY APARTMENT PROJECT: As used in this division, a COMMUNITY APARTMENT PROJECT is one in which an undivided interest in the land is coupled with the right of exclusive occupancy of any apartment located thereon.

STOCK COOPERATIVE PROJECT: As used in this division, a STOCK COOPERATIVE is a corporation which is formed or availed of primarily for the purpose of holding title to, either in fee simple or for a term of years, improved real property, if all or substantially all of the shareholders of such corporation receive a right of exclusive occupancy in a portion of the real property, title to which is held by the corporation, which right of occupancy is transferable only concurrently with the transfer of the share or shares of stock or membership certificate in the corporation held by the person having such right of occupancy. The term “STOCK COOPERATIVE” does not include a limited-equity housing cooperative, as defined in Section 11003.4 of the Business and Professions Code.

DISABLED TENANT: As used in this division, DISABLED TENANT shall incorporate that definition of DISABLED PERSON set forth in the California Vehicle Code Section 295.5. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74.1; Amended by Ord. No. 3255, eff. 7/13/91; 3058, 2830.]

No tentative tract or parcel map for a residential condominium conversion, community apartment or a stock cooperative project shall be approved or conditionally approved unless the subdivider secures an Administrative Use Permit for such project. The time requirements specified in Section 10-1-1959(A) and (B) shall be extended to 50 days to permit the Director to investigate and render a proposed decision concurrently with the processing of the map pursuant to Section 11-1-321 et seq. of this Code. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74.2; Amended by Ord. No. 3255, eff. 7/13/91; 3174, 3058, 3030, 2830.]

The application for an Administrative Use Permit for a residential condominium conversion, community apartment, or a stock cooperative project shall include the following information in copies which are necessary for the Director to evaluate the project:

A. A property report describing the condition and estimating the remaining useful life of each of the following elements of each structure situated within the project proposed for conversion: foundations, exterior walls, fire walls, roof, stairways and exits, interior insulation (sound and thermal), exterior insulation (sound and thermal), light and ventilation, plumbing, electrical, heating and air conditioning, fire and earthquake safety provisions, security provisions, interior common or public areas, landscaping, and trash control. Such report shall be prepared by an appropriately licensed civil engineer or an architect registered in the State, and shall contain recommendations for the correction or improvement of any deficiencies noted.

B. Tenant and rental information shall consist of the following: name and address of each tenant of the project and the identification of any vacant units; copies of each letter sent to each tenant as required in Section 10-1-668(A) and (B); present rent for each unit; length of lease for each unit and the expiration date of each lease agreement; and the estimated price range of each units as a condominium.

C. Schedule of proposed improvements which may be made to the project prior to their sale.

D. A plot plan of the project including the location and sizes of structures, parking layout and access areas.

E. Such other information which the Director determines is necessary to evaluate the project. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74.3; Amended by Ord. No. 3255, eff. 7/13/91; 3208, 3058, 2930, 2830.]

Upon submission of an Administrative Use Permit for condominium conversion, community apartment or stock cooperative project, the subdivider shall pay the fee designated in the Burbank Fee Resolution. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74.4; Amended by Ord. No. 3255, eff. 7/13/91; 3208, 3058, 2830.]

Upon receipt of the application for an Administrative Use Permit to convert and the application for a subdivision:

A. The Director shall submit copies of applicable reports, maps and documents to the Building Department, Fire Department and other departments as found necessary.

B. The Building Director shall review the property report submitted by the subdivider and may require its revision or resubmission if it is found to be inadequate in providing the required information.

C. The Building Director shall also cause an inspection to be made of all buildings and structures in the existing development and shall prepare an inspection report identifying all items to be found to be in violation of the City’s current Building and Housing Code requirements, or items found to be hazardous.

D. The Fire Chief shall cause an inspection to be made of said project to determine the sufficiency of fire protection systems serving the project and report on any deficiencies and indicate which deficiencies are required to be corrected by law.

All of the reports required or referred to in this section shall be prepared in time for submission to the Director for their review and consideration of the Administrative Use Permit. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74.5; Amended by Ord. No. 3255, eff. 7/13/91; 3058, 2930, 2830.]

A. The subdivider shall:

1. Correct all violations of the Building and Housing Code and repair or replace any fixtures, appliances, equipment, facilities and structural appurtenances determined to be deteriorated or hazardous.

2. Correct any deficiencies in the fire protection system as required by law.

3. Repair or replace any damaged or infested areas in need of repair or replacement as shown in a structural pest control report, to be prepared by a licensed structural pest control operator and filed at least 30 days prior to the submittal of the final map.

4. Dedicate any additional width of the public right-of-way of the street(s) abutting the property as required by the Public Works Director and in conformance with the minimum standard of the Circulation Element of the General Plan as set forth in Appendix A thereof.

B. To the greatest extent practicable from the standpoint of financial feasibility all deficiencies noted in the property report required by Section 10-1-664 of this division shall be corrected prior to consideration of the final map. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74.6; Amended by Ord. No. 3208, eff. 11/10/90; 3058, 2830.]

A. Commencing at a date not less than 60 days prior to submittal of the tentative tract map, and continuing thereafter until such time as units are offered for sale, the owner or subdivider shall give written notice of the intent to convert and the rights set forth in Subsections (C) through (G) of this section, to each person applying after such date for rental of a unit in the subject property immediately prior to acceptance of any rent or deposit from the prospective tenant. Proof of such notification and acceptance of same by the prospective tenant shall immediately be filed with the City Planner. Failure by the owner or subdivider to notify each prospective tenant who becomes a tenant and was entitled to such notice and who does not purchase their unit, shall require the owner or subdivider to pay to the affected tenant a relocation payment of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500).

B. At least 60 days prior to submittal of the tentative tract map and application to the City for processing, the owner or subdivider shall send a letter to each and every tenant in the building to be converted, which letter shall advise the tenants of all rights set forth in Subsections (C) through (G) of this section. Said letter shall be served on the tenants by certified mail. At the time of tentative tract filing, the owner or subdivider shall file with the City a true copy of the letter sent to all tenants, proof of mailing, and a duly signed and notarized written statement that the required letter has been sent.

C. The Director shall notify in writing each affected tenant concerning the Notice of Director’s proposed decision regarding the application for conversion in accordance with Section 10-1-1959 of this Code.

D. The subdivider shall give each tenant a minimum of 180 days’ written notice of intention to convert prior to termination of tenancy due to the conversion or proposed conversion.

E. The present tenant or tenants of any unit to be converted shall be given an exclusive right to contract to purchase the unit occupied at a price no greater than the price, and with terms no less favorable than the terms offered to the general public. Such right shall be irrevocable for a period of 90 days after the issuance of the final public report by the California Department of Real Estate unless the tenant gives prior written notice of intention not to exercise the right.

F. The subdivider shall pay to the tenants whose name appears on the Administrative Use Permit application, as required by Section 10-1-664(D), and who move as a result of having received the notice required by Section 10-1-668(B), a total of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) per unit. If more than one (1) tenant occupies a unit being converted to condominium, each tenant shall receive a pro rata share of the relocation benefit. This financial relocation assistance requirement shall not apply to the benefit of tenants who were given written notice of the landlord’s intent to convert when the respective rental agreements or leases were signed.

Failure to record a final subdivision map within the time allowed by this Code and the Subdivision Map Act, including all allowable time extensions, shall terminate all proceedings. Before a tentative subdivision map may thereafter be refiled, the application for a new Administrative Use Permit and tentative map shall be accompanied by an application fee equal to the sum which is double the application fees required for original applications.

G. Any rent increase above the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Department’s Guidelines occurring in the year prior to the relocation of a tenant and arising out of or caused by approval of a tentative tract map or tentative parcel map for conversion shall be refunded to the tenant who paid such excess.

If a final subdivision map has not been recorded within three and one-half (3 1/2) years after the date of approval of a tentative tract map, and two (2) years for a tentative parcel map, and reapplication has been filed within one (1) year from the tentative map expiration date, then all tenants who lived in the structure being subdivided, and who continue to live in a rental unit of said structure shall thereafter be eligible for the financial relocation assistance required by this section, regardless of the reason for ineligibility prior thereto.

H. Each disabled tenant whose name appears on the Administrative Use Permit application, as required by Section 10-1-664(F), and who moves as a result of having received the notice required by Section 10-1-668(B), shall submit to the Community Development Director a report from a licensed occupational therapist or physician listing the accessibility improvements needed as a result of the tenant’s orthopedic or physical disability.

The subdivider shall be responsible for funding mobility improvements in the disabled tenant’s new dwelling unit. These improvements shall be chosen by the tenant from those listed in the submitted report. The cost of said chosen improvements shall not exceed a total of $2,500 for all disabled tenants in any unit. These costs are in addition to the relocation payments required in Section 10-1-668(F). If more than one (1) disabled tenant occupies a unit being converted, the subdivider shall divide the mobility improvement benefit established in this section equally among the disabled tenants.

The mobility improvements are limited to those listed in, and must comply with, California Administrative Code Title 24, Sections 2-110A(b)9, 2-511(a), 2-522(a), 2-1214, 2-3301, 2-3304, 2-3305, 2-3306, 2-3307, 2-3325, 2-3326, 3-089-8(b)9, 3-210-50(e), 3-380-8(c), 5-008(b)(9), 5-1501, 5-1502, 5-1504(a), 5-1505, 5-1506 and 5-1508.

The subdivider shall submit to the Community Development Director a contract itemizing the mobility improvements to be made to the disabled tenant’s new dwelling, the cost of these improvements, and the name, address and business license number of the contractor to perform the work. All work contracts for mobility improvements which will be applied toward the $2,500 obligation set forth in this subsection shall be approved by the Community Development Director. The Community Development Director may reject the contract for reasons including, but not limited to, unreasonably high costs for repairs. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74.7; Amended by Ord. No. 3255, eff. 7/13/91; 3208, 3058, 2930, 2830.]

Conversions shall meet the following minimum standards:

A. DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS. All condominium conversions must comply with the standards in Section 10-1-629.

B. BUILDING STANDARDS.

1. All buildings proposed for conversion shall meet current City Building, Housing and Fire Codes including, but not limited to, sound attenuation with respect to party walls and floor/ceiling assemblies. The State mandated energy conservation regulation for R-11 insulation for exterior walls on new construction shall be exempt for conversion purposes.

2. The consumption of gas and electricity within each dwelling unit shall be separately metered so that the unit owner can be separately billed for each utility. The requirements of this subsection may be waived when the City Planning Commission and/or the City Council finds that such would not be practicable or would be cost prohibitive. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74.8; Amended by Ord. No. 22-3,983, eff. 12/16/22; 3676, 3255, 3058, 2830.]

To achieve the purposes of this division, the subdivider shall provide a copy of the CC&Rs proposed to be recorded as required by State law, together with any and all documents required and relating to the items regulated by this division, prior to the filing of the final map pursuant to the provisions of Title 11 of this Code.

Once the CC&Rs are accepted in final form by the Director none of the portions of the CC&Rs relating to items regulated by this section shall be amended, modified or changed without first obtaining written consent of the Director, and a statement to that effect shall be included at the end of the CC&Rs.

A. ASSIGNMENT OR CONVEYANCE OF PRIVATE STORAGE AREAS.

The surface and appurtenant airspace of private storage areas required by Section 10-1-669(C) of this division, shall be described in the CC&Rs and conveyed to its respective unit.

B. ASSIGNMENT AND USE OF REQUIRED OFF-STREET PARKING SPACES.

Required off-street parking spaces, except guest parking spaces, if any, shall be permanently and irrevocably assigned to particular units within the project. In no case shall the private storage area of one (1) unit overhang or take its access from the required off-street parking space of another unit. All parking spaces shall be used solely by unit owners, members of their families, their guests or lessees of the owner’s unit. All parking spaces shall be used solely for the purposes of parking motor vehicles as defined by the State Vehicle Code. No parking space shall be used by, rented or leased to any person except in conjunction with the occupancy of a unit within the project. [Added by Ord. No. 2725; Formerly numbered Section 31-74.9; Renumbered by Ord. No. 3058, eff. 2/21/87; 2930, 2830.]

A. The subdivider shall establish an escrow account for disabled tenants mobility improvement costs required in Section 10-1-668(F) in an institution described in Subsection (B) below. This subdivider shall bear all costs associated with the use of this account.

B. The subdivider may place the escrow account in any bank, savings and loan association, or credit union with federal deposit insurance; with any broker licensed by the California Real Estate Commission; or with any escrow service licensed by the California Corporation Commission, that is reasonably accessible to the tenant(s) during normal business hours.

C. Escrow instructions must provide for disbursement for actual expenses incurred at completion of construction of mobility improvements mandated by Section 10-1-668(F), upon approval by the Community Development Director; any excess funds to be returned to the subdivider upon completion of said improvements; and the dispute resolution process established in Section 10-1-670.2. The tenant(s) shall receive a copy of all escrow documents.

D. The escrow shall provide for disbursements only to those contractors approved by the Community Development Director. The escrow may also provide that the escrow holder verify that the expense has been paid or that the agreement to incur an expense has been entered into by the party(s) named in the agreement. In no case may payments be made directly to the tenant.

E. All payments from escrow must be made within three (3) working days after receiving notice of approval from the Community Development Director.

F. In addition to the above, the escrow must also include:

1. The names of each tenant in a unit, their mailing address, the pro rata share to each, and if possible a telephone number(s);

2. A statement that the subdivider and the escrow company indemnify and hold harmless from all liability the City, its officers, employees, or hearing officers selected by the Department, who act in good faith and with proper authority when authorizing disbursements from the escrow account;

3. Instructions that a copy of the escrow agreement and all instructions from the subdivider to the institution holding the escrow account, as well as copies of all documents required by these guidelines, and documentation of mobility improvement expenses paid directly to any third party, must be sent by the institution holding the escrow account to the tenants. The costs of reproducing documents and the cost of mailing documents cannot be charged against the tenant’s $2,500 benefit. Costs of this kind must be borne by the subdivider establishing the escrow account, and the institution setting up the escrow account should establish a fee sufficient to cover such costs. [Added by Ord. No. 3255, eff. 7/13/91.]

A. The escrow must contain a dispute resolution procedure that provides that the release of funds made or to be made to a third party constructing the improvements and contested by the tenant or the owner of the tenant’s new dwelling unit or by the party constructing the improvements will be determined solely by the Community Development Director. The dispute resolution procedure must provide that in the event of a dispute between the tenant and the escrow, involving the disbursement of funds as required in Section 10-1-670.1(C) through (F), the escrow holder at the request of the tenant(s) must inform the Community Development Director and the tenant(s) in writing that a dispute exists, the reason for the dispute and the amount in dispute within five (5) working days of receiving a request for payment. The procedure must also provide that the disputing party(s) have three (3) working days to rescind the dispute notice in writing.

B. Dispute notices must be sent by registered mail or delivered to the Community Development Director, 275 East Olive Avenue, Burbank, CA 91502, on the fifth working day following presentation of the dispute notice to the opposing party. A copy of the escrow instructions must accompany the notice.

C. All remaining funds which are not disputed expenses are subject to the escrow instructions. Provision must be made in the escrow dispute resolution procedures for setting aside the disputed amount so that it is not subject to any other disbursements.

D. Within five (5) working days of receipt of a dispute notice, the Department will contact the disputing parties to investigate.

E. Within eight (8) working days after receipt of a dispute notice, the Department will mail to the disputing parties a notice detailing the instruction(s) the Department intends to issue to the escrow holder. The Department may only order the funds in dispute to be paid or to remain in escrow. Disputes involving matters other than those contained in Subsection (C) through (F) must be resolved between the parties in another forum.

F. Any party to the dispute may appeal the Department’s determination within five (5) days after the notice of intent is sent. An appeal must be served on the Department and the opposite party to the dispute within the five (5) day period. The appeal must state why the appellant believes the Department’s determination is in error.

G. The final determination of the funds in dispute will be made by the City Landlord-Tenant Commission.

H. The appealing party may rescind in writing the appeal prior to the scheduled meeting date. If the appeal is rescinded, the Department’s original determination will be carried out by the escrow holder, upon notification of a final determination by the Commission.

I. There is no fee for filing an appeal from the Commission’s decision to authorize or not authorize a disbursement from an escrow account.

J. The Commission will set a meeting date at the next regular meeting scheduled after receipt of the notice of appeal. The escrow holder and the tenant shall be notified by the Commission of the time and place of the meeting not later than ten (10) business days prior to the scheduled meeting.

K. The meeting will be conducted by the Commission. Both the escrow officer and the tenant may submit documents, testimony, written declarations or other evidence, all of which shall be submitted under oath. If neither party appears at the meeting, the Commission shall make a determination based on the administrative record.

L. The Commission will make a final written determination within ten (10) business days after the hearing, which will be mailed to the involved parties.

M. The Commission’s decision shall be final. [Added by Ord. No. 3255, eff. 7/13/91; Amended by Ord. No. 13-3,844, eff. 11/22/13.]