Airport Zoning Law Needed in Los Angeles
Regarding “Bill to Exempt County From Airport Growth Law Gains,” (Times, June 21).
Sen. (Robert G.) Beverly’s (R-Manhattan Beach) proposal to weaken the airport zoning laws for Los Angeles County should not be approved. These zoning laws are needed to protect residents from airport noise and to preserve the airports which are important relievers to Los Angeles International, Long Beach and Burbank airports.
When billionaire Howard Hughes built his aircraft factory, he bought the surrounding land so that no one would complain about the noise from the airport. Since his death, that land has been turned into high-density condominiums and the residents are complaining about the noise from LAX, which is adjacent to the Hughes airport.
In Torrance, the city has leased airport land to developers, allowing them to build high-density office buildings directly under the departure end of the runway. In El Segundo, developers want to build higher-density housing close to LAX. In Compton, housing has replaced the farms that used to surround the airport.
In all of these cases, airports were built in good locations. But in each case developers, encouraged by city officials and undeterred by weak airport zoning laws, have built housing or other incompatible buildings near the airport. The effect has invariably been to turn the residents or workers against the airport.
Instead of this uncontrolled growth, development on the land around airports should be controlled by effective zoning laws. Instead of high-density housing or office buildings, airports should have safe emergency landing places at each end of the runway.
Sen. Beverly argues that the Los Angeles County branch of the League of California Cities supports his bill. His argument for the bill is that cities, not the county, should determine how property within their city is developed.
The problem with his argument is that many of the airports, which were given to the cities by federal grants, must be kept open. Because of the number of different cities in Los Angeles County and because of the relatively few number of airports for the area’s population, the county is the only local government body that has the perspective to control development around the airports and to keep the airports open and usable for all of the counties’ residents and businesses.
Allowing uncontrolled, incompatible, development around the counties’ airports must stop. Sen. (Marian) Bergeson’s (R-Newport Beach) airport zoning law should be strengthened instead of being weakened by exempting Los Angeles County.
RODNEY F. SINCLAIR
San Pedro
