FAA Presses for Aviation Use of Land Near Van Nuys Airport

The Federal Aviation Administration has warned the city Department of Airports that it opposes leasing land on the east side of Van Nuys Airport to a non-aviation tenant, which airport authorities were considering in order to mollify homeowners angered by aircraft noise.

Don Miller, the department’s general property manager, told a meeting of the Board of Airport Commissioners Wednesday that the FAA had sent him a letter calling the land one of the few remaining vacant areas “with reasonable, convenient access” to the runways.

“For this reason, we strongly recommend that the parcel be retained for direct aeronautical purposes,” the FAA’s letter said.

The commissioners had earlier promised homeowner groups that they would consider leasing the site to a commercial or industrial tenant with no connection to aviation. The homeowner groups, who complain of the noise, wanted to prevent an increase in the number of large charter planes and executive jets.

Because of conditions attached to federal aid used in obtaining and improving the airport--a former Air Corps training base that was donated to the city after World War II--the FAA reviews city leases with tenants that have no connection with aviation. Approval has been granted routinely in the past, and there are a number of non-aviation related manufacturing and office buildings on airport land.

The commission Wednesday instructed Miller to ask the the FAA to “clarify” its position, Van Nuys Airport spokesman Tom Winfrey said.

“We’re going to run at them again,” Winfrey said.

Legal Challenge Possible

Miller said that one option open to the airports department, if no agreement can be reached with the FAA, is to challenge the federal agency’s authority to veto non-aviation tenants. The department “has historically sought federal approval” without testing the legal limits of the FAA’s jurisdiction, Miller said.

Airport officials say development of the 8.3-acre site on Valjean Avenue, just north of Sherman Way, is a part of their plan to ring the airfield with major commercial and industrial projects. The land usually is leased to tenants for 40 years, under terms the department hopes will convert the airport from a money loser to a source of profits.

Earlier development plans for the site were left in limbo in November, when American Savings & Loan, a subsidiary of the financially troubled Financial Corp. of America, announced it was dropping plans to build a $39-million regional headquarters complex there.

After hearing protests from representatives of two groups, Homeowners of Encino and Ban Airport Noise, the airport commissioners agreed to consider applications from tenants who would put the site to “commercial or industrial use” unrelated to aviation.

Developer Approved

At the Wednesday meeting, the commissioners also approved selection of The Scofield Partnership to develop airport-owned land just north of the airfield, the next major step in airport-area development.

Scofield agreed to raze the existing buildings--restaurants, bars and small shops along a 4.1-acre strip on the north side of Roscoe Boulevard--and to spend at least $2.1 million to erect a commercial and industrial park on the site.

Scofield, selected from a field of 10 applicants to lease and develop the land, also was given the sole right to negotiate with the airports department for a 40-year-lease on the site. An initial rent of $152,500 a year has been proposed by the department, but the lease terms must be reviewed by the city administrative officer and the mayor’s office before going before the board, and then the City Council, for approval.

The present tenants were told last summer that they would have to vacate the site by March 1, Miller said.