VAN NUYS : Council Urged to Back Airport Plan

Los Angeles City Councilman Joel Wachs urged the council Wednesday to support creation of a master plan to guide development at the Van Nuys Airport for the next 20 years.

In a motion that will be formally considered in the next few months, Wachs complained that the airport’s current development plan was cobbled together from zoning regulations contained in five separate community development plans and does not set goals for the future.

Wachs’ aides said many residents around the airport fear that the facility is slowly becoming a corporate airport exclusively for jets. A master plan would set guidelines for development and impose limits on the type and number of hangars allowed on airport property, the aides said.

The motion was referred to the council’s Commerce, Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Meanwhile, airport officials have already started the process of drafting a master plan by hiring a consultant to interview residents, airport tenants and airport officials to help develop the goals and objectives of the document. They hope to complete it in 18 months.