Anti-Noise Members of Airport Advisers Walk Out of Meeting

Alongstanding rift between factions on the Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council led to a walkout by five anti-noise members at the council’s meeting Tuesday night.

Protesting that the council does no good for residents affected by airport noise, member Don Schultz moved that the council be disbanded. Council Chairman Clay Lacey ruled the motion out of order because the group was created by the Los Angeles City Council, which alone can dissolve it.

Advisory council member Judea Pearl, a member of the anti-noise faction, protested that the council “creates the impression that there is a dialogue, while there is a concerted attempt to maintain the status quo, which is uncontrolled development of the airport by bits and pieces, always one project at a time.”

Schultz, Pearl and three other noise protesters walked out in protest.

Pearl and Schultz--who is also president of Ban Airport Noise, an organization formed to protest noise from Van Nuys and Burbank airports--said they would resign.

The council was formed in 1985 to provide advice on airport issues following years of noisy debates and political disputes by anti-noise groups and pro-airport interests, including pilots and airport-based businesses. Members are appointed by City Council members whose districts are near the airport, the mayor and the city’s Board of Airport Commissioners.