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ISSUES

Eddy Polon’s Vision for Burbank

Eddy Polon’s vision for Burbank is a city that honors its history, protects our quality of life, and ensures that local government works for Burbank residents — not against them.

As a community advocate, Eddy’s focus is on delivering real results for working families, small businesses, and the neighborhoods that make Burbank special.

As part of his Master of Urban Planning coursework at California State University, Northridge (CSUN), he’s conducted original research focused on transportation and housing issues that directly affect Burbank and the surrounding region. This research informs how he thinks about mobility, housing affordability, and land-use decisions at the local level.

 

Eddy speaking at his campaign launch

Expand Affordable Housing & Homeownership

Burbank is growing — but too many residents are being left behind. Teachers, studio crews, first responders, and small business workers who make this city thrive can no longer afford to live here.

Eddy believes that if you work in Burbank, you should have the opportunity to live in Burbank.

Eddy’s plan includes:

  • Using city-owned land and underused commercial properties to create small-lot ownership developments and mixed-use housing that fit the scale and character of our neighborhoods.
  • Launching a first-time homebuyer program offering low-interest loans and down-payment support for Burbank residents who work locally — especially teachers, studio workers, and public employees.
  • Requiring that a portion of new housing near transit and business corridors be affordable to middle-income households (earning 80–120% of Area Median Income), not just luxury or very low-income units.
  • Promoting “missing middle” housing — duplexes, triplexes, and small-lot subdivisions — to expand homeownership options without altering neighborhood charm.
  • Creating stronger tenant protections to prevent displacement and stabilize rents for long-time residents.
  • Building housing near jobs, schools, and transit to reduce traffic and help families spend less time commuting and more time together.
  • Partnering with local studios and employers to invest in workforce housing so the people who power Burbank’s economy can continue to call it home.
  • Establishing a public dashboard tracking affordable units built, preserved, or planned — ensuring transparency and accountability.

Keep Film and Entertainment Jobs in Burbank

The entertainment industry isn’t just part of Burbank’s identity — it’s the backbone of our economy. Eddy spent over two decades working in the entertainment industry and believes we can fight harder to keep film, television, and digital production thriving right here, protecting the good union jobs and small businesses that depend on it.

Eddy’s plan includes:

  • Continuing to make sure Burbank is the most film-friendly city in California.
  • Partnering with studios, unions, and local schools to train and hire Burbank residents for good-paying entertainment and tech jobs.
  • Supporting mixed-use creative districts that include soundstages, production offices, and local-serving retail.
  • Promoting film-tourism initiatives that highlight Burbank’s legacy while supporting small businesses.
  • Strengthening collaboration between the City, studios, and the Chamber of Commerce to ensure film and media production remains a cornerstone of our city’s future.

Public Safety & Transparency

Keeping Burbank safe means more than promises — it means ensuring our police, fire, and emergency medical services have the resources, staffing, and coordination needed to respond quickly when residents need help most.

Eddy believes in prioritizing a city government that is prepared, responsive, and welcoming of community oversight and collaboration.

Eddy’s plan includes:

  • Better promoting and supporting city commissions and boards to ensure thoughtful, reasonable, and inclusive oversight.
  • Supporting full staffing and modern equipment for first responders to meet growing community needs.
  • Continue to prioritize wildfire prevention, disaster preparedness, and neighborhood evacuation planning.
  • Addressing legacy and new environmental hazards such as groundwater contamination and mosquito abatement.
  • Ensuring coordination between city departments during emergencies so residents receive clear, timely information.

Public safety is a core responsibility — Eddy wants to make sure Burbank delivers.

Improve Quality of Life Services: Putting Burbankers First and Preparing for the Future

Eddy is committed to improving the day-to-day lives of Burbank residents and small businesses for generations to come by making city services more effective, transparent, and accountable.

Eddy’s plan includes:

  • Accountability and Transparency: Setting clear public goals for city departments with regular progress reports, and making contracts, budgets, permits, and spending easy to access online.
  • Safe Streets: Fast-tracking street improvements — especially Safe Routes to Schools — with clear timelines and regular updates.
  • Rebuild Olive and Magnolia Avenue Bridges: These bridges are obsolete and dangerous and must be replaced. The city allocated funds two years ago to begin this process, but no progress has been made. City staff can do better.
  • Better Public Transit: Reimagining BurbankBus with improved service for Burbank families. Burbank currently owns a fleet of buses, many of them sitting idly in city parking lots. Let’s put them to use making our streets less congested and our city more accessible.
  • Modernized Permitting: Streamlining permitting and inspections so residents and businesses can track applications in real time, reducing delays and confusion.
  • Small Business Support: Simplifying city regulations and maintaining open communication to help local businesses thrive.
  • Community Engagement: Hosting regular “City Hall in Your Neighborhood” events for real dialogue between city leaders and residents.
  • Tenant Protections: Improving transparency and enforcement in housing policies to protect renters and stabilize neighborhoods.

Climate Resiliency and Sustainability

Burbank must prepare for the challenges of drought, extreme heat, and climate impacts while building a healthier, greener future.

Eddy’s plan includes:

  • Expanding green space and urban tree canopy across the city.
  • Incentivizing solar energy, water conservation, and drought-tolerant landscaping.
  • Investing in electric buses, EV charging infrastructure, and clean fleet transitions.
  • Ensuring every infrastructure project meets sustainability and resiliency benchmarks.
  • Tracking progress publicly so residents can see results.

Protect Burbank’s Small-Town Character

Burbank is projected to gain 17,000 new households by 2050 (SCAG 2024). Growth is inevitable — but it must be done responsibly.

Eddy wants to ensure that Burbank grows in a way that strengthens, not sacrifices, the small-town feel that we cherish.

Eddy’s plan includes:

  • Updating outdated building codes that block “missing middle” housing and limit design creativity (such as single-staircase reform).
  • Upgrade our parks and green spaces with better recreational amenities.
  • Complete our city’s master bike plan. While Burbank benefits from stretches of high quality paths such as the Chandler Bike Path, it is essential to finally connect the entire network and make bicycling safe in our city.
  • Slowing down local streets to make them safer for pedestrians, bicyclists, and drivers.
  • Expanding active transportation options such as bike share, neighborhood shuttles, and walkable corridors.
  • Prepare for future growth through better and more innovative infrastructure planning.

A Stronger Burbank — For Everyone

Eddy Polon believes that together we can do more to support working families, protect our local economy, improve city services, and preserve the character of the community we love.

Policy Research

Research-Driven Policy for Burbank

Good local policy starts with understanding how Burbank actually works—not just in theory, but on the ground.

Burbank Older Adult Needs Assessment (In Progress)

What does it mean to grow older in Burbank today?

This independent community assessment seeks input from residents age 65 and older on housing, transportation, safety, health, recreation, and quality of life.

Take the Survey.

Bus Rapid Transit & Property Values

What the LA Metro G Line Can Teach Us

Overview

This quantitative study analyzed over 13,000 residential property sales near the LA Metro G Line (Bus Rapid Transit) between 2000 and 2024 to determine whether proximity to BRT affects home values.

Key Findings

  • Proximity to the G Line did not significantly raise or lower home values.
  • Property type, size, age, and overall market conditions were far more influential.
  • Station integration, walkability, and surrounding land use matter more than the transit mode itself.

Why This Matters

Long-term data shows that BRT does not harm property values and that thoughtful integration can support positive neighborhood outcomes.

Download BRT Study (425kb PDF).

Who Rides the BurbankBus — and Why

Identifying Variables That Affect Ridership on the BurbankBus

Overview

This original qualitative research examined who rides Burbank’s two fixed-route bus lines, how they use the system, and what factors encourage—or discourage—ridership. The study combined on-board observation, passenger surveys, interviews, and archival research to better understand rider behavior and attitudes.

Key Findings

  • Most riders use the bus as part of a multi-step trip, often connecting to regional transit.
  • Car ownership and homeownership did not predict whether someone rides the bus.
  • The strongest barriers to increased ridership were infrequent service, first/last-mile access, and limited local circulation.
  • Riders expressed strong positive emotional associations with transit, especially for leisure trips.

Why This Matters

Improving frequency, connectivity, and local circulation can make transit more useful and appealing while supporting Burbank’s mobility and sustainability goals.

Download BurbankBus Research Paper (448kb PDF).

Burbank Multimodal Transportation Plan 2046

Overview

This long-range transportation plan examines how Burbank can build a safer, more connected, and more sustainable transportation network over the next twenty years. The plan focuses on improving connections between transit, walking, bicycling, and regional mobility systems.

Key Findings

  • Burbank possesses significant transportation assets, including regional rail, local transit, airport access, and future Bus Rapid Transit service.
  • Gaps in first- and last-mile connectivity limit the effectiveness of existing transportation investments.
  • Unsafe vehicle speeds remain a significant contributor to traffic collisions.
  • Protected bicycle facilities, safer pedestrian infrastructure, and improved transit connections can expand mobility options and reduce automobile dependence.
  • A coordinated multimodal network is essential to improving safety, accessibility, and quality of life.

Why This Matters

Transportation affects how residents access jobs, schools, healthcare, recreation, and community services. Investing in a connected multimodal transportation system can improve mobility, support economic development, enhance public safety, and provide residents with practical alternatives to automobile travel.

Download the full report (1.3mb PDF).

Housing Affordability in Burbank

Overview

This policy analysis examines housing affordability challenges in Burbank and evaluates strategies to keep the city livable, welcoming, and economically diverse.

Key Findings

  • Housing shortages are a major driver of rising costs.
  • Increasing housing supply and streamlining approvals can improve affordability over time.
  • A balanced approach that combines housing production, tenant protections, and targeted assistance offers the strongest overall results.

Why This Matters

Housing affordability affects families, workers, seniors, and young adults. Addressing this challenge is essential to maintaining Burbank’s quality of life and economic vitality.

Download the full report (403kb PDF).

Transparency Note
These papers were completed as part of graduate coursework and represent independent academic research. While this work informs my policy thinking, future policy decisions should always be shaped through public input, transparency, and community dialogue.