BURBANK : Airport Expansion Foes Named to Board

Just minutes after two newly sworn members joined its ranks Monday, a reconstituted Burbank City Council named the leaders of two homeowners groups to serve on the board of commissioners that oversees Burbank Airport.

The temporary appointments of Phil Berlin and Jim Gordon give opponents of airport expansion their first representation in years on the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority and indicate the new prevailing sentiment on the council.

Both Berlin and Gordon are opposed to any increase in aircraft gates or flights at Burbank Airport.

Those feelings are shared by Mayor Dave Golonski and Councilwoman Susan Spanos, as well as by Councilmen Bob Kramer and Ted McConkey, who replaced Robert Bowne and George Battey Jr. on the council Monday.

Though outnumbered on the nine-member Airport Authority, Berlin and Gordon voting as a bloc have the power to veto plans to incur any debt for a new, larger airport terminal, which would increase the area affected by aircraft noise.

Because of their backgrounds, they promise to be particularly sensitive to the concerns of residents living under or near the airport’s flight path.

Berlin is a lawyer and co-founder of the Verdugo-Magnolia Park Homeowners Assn., and Gordon is co-founder of the Burbank Flatlanders Home Protection League.

“I see my role as a catalyst for discussion” and the new appointments were “for that purpose alone,” Berlin said. “I want to make sure the Airport Authority is a place where it’s not a problem for the citizens of Burbank to come up . . . and speak their minds.”

Berlin and Gordon, who take their seats as airport commissioners today, are expected to serve for up to 60 days, until the council decides whether to extend their appointments or name new representatives.

Already, Gordon says he wants to find a way for the Airport Authority to enforce a curfew on flights late at night and early in the morning.

In another airport-related matter, the council discussed the future of Brian Bowman, a Burbank airport commissioner who is president of the authority, because of lingering questions about whether he has served in the best interest of the city’s residents or of the airport.

“It’s time for Mr. Bowman to depart,” Kramer said. “The problem is he no longer represents the majority thinking on the airport.”

The council took no action on Bowman’s fate, citing the need to give proper notice to the public, and will discuss the matter again next Tuesday.

Bowman declined to discuss his future with the Airport Authority on Monday.

Of the new commissioners, he said: “When the time comes to deal with the terminal, I certainly hope they’re both open and consider the needs of the region in addition to the needs of the people who live immediately south of the airport.”