Airport Rethinks Bond Plan

Handing opponents of airport expansion a partial victory, Burbank Airport officials agreed on Monday to cancel a public hearing and rethink plans for financing a larger terminal.

The Airport Authority, bowing to opposition, dropped a bid to persuade the Burbank City Council to approve issuance of $100 million in tax-exempt bonds needed to purchase land for the new terminal. Under federal law, tax-exempt bonds cannot be issued without a public hearing and approval from the Burbank City Council or other elected officials.

A new terminal is still planned, but the process will take more time, said Brian Bowman, president of the airport’s nine-member operating board, the Airport Authority.

“Time is needed to communicate with the city and with the community,” Bowman said. “The project is still going forward, except we’re just going forward at a more reasonable pace, where everyone clearly understands what we’re trying to do.”

Strong opposition to the pace of expansion surfaced from Burbank Vice Mayor Dave Golonski, who is expected to become mayor in May, and a new majority on the council skeptical of plans for rapid expansion.

Golonski said he does not favor any plans for a new terminal and would “do everything in my power to see that the airport is maintained at a size that is in the best interest of our entire community,” according to a newspaper column he wrote that appeared Saturday.

Airport Commissioner Robert Garcin, reached Monday, said he favors alternatives to seeking the council’s approval for tax-exempt bonds.

“The real reason we’re not doing this,” Garcin said, “is because we don’t want to approach the financing of the terminal project with a turndown from the Burbank City Council, which would reverberate badly in the bond market.”

A majority of the incoming members of the Burbank City Council, to be seated May 1, have stated they would support a referendum putting expansion to a popular vote. Councilman-elect Bob Kramer said the airport’s public relations effort “is not going to change the minds of the people of Burbank.”

“The Airport Authority is afraid to face the wrath of the citizens of Burbank,” he said. “The new City Council is never gonna let the airport become larger.”

Supporters of a larger Burbank Airport terminal say the project is needed to accommodate a natural growth of air travelers drawn by low-fare carriers such as Southwest Airlines. Opponents worry about the increased aircraft noise and automobile traffic that might result from a terminal nearly three times its present size.

The action taken by the Airport Authority Monday represents an about-face from the board’s previous position. Earlier, Airport Controller Dios Marrero said he hoped to move forward with the project quickly, citing the need to buy land for the expansion in a timely manner, among other things.

A public hearing on the proposed bond sale had been scheduled for March 21 over the objections of Golonski and Councilwoman Susan Spanos, who wanted to hold it after May 1, when two new--and decidedly anti-expansion--council members are expected to take office.

With the cancellation of the hearing, Bowman said airport officials now have the opportunity to consider seeking other ways of financing the land purchase that do not require council approval.

Those alternatives include asking for approval to issue tax-exempt bonds from the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, raising money from private industry and issuing taxable bonds--which would cost airport officials millions of dollars more in interest compared with tax-exempt bonds, but not require the Burbank City Council’s approval.