Let’s Not Fly in the Face of Reality : The Van Nuys Airport master plan can be a model of good government or it can degrade the area. Aviation expansion should be abandoned in favor of retail, markets or light industry.

The Los Angeles Department of Airports is at long last working on the Van Nuys Airport master plan. An intensive series of public hearings, workshops, round-table discussions and committee meetings is under way. One is scheduled for 7 p.m. Tuesday at the Airtel Plaza Hotel in Van Nuys. The charge is to develop a plan that will be the guide for the future.

The airport can grow and create more noise, or its 120 acres of unused land can be made an asset to the community by housing retail shopping, markets, commercial space or light manufacturing. The master plan process can be a model of good government. Or it can degrade into a contentious battle among residents, business and aviation interests.

The goals of the master plan are to provide for continued general aviation use, promote economic well-being and public convenience, improve the airport’s appearance, minimize adverse environmental impacts and encourage compatibility with surrounding communities.

That is a tall order for an airport that has negatively impacted surrounding communities for decades. Tens of thousands of residents are plagued daily by increasing jet and helicopter noise.

There is a clear consensus among community leaders and residents that no further airport expansion should take place. They are insisting that the available land owned by the airport be used for non-aviation purposes rather than for airport expansion. We believe that any new projects built on airport property should be used for retail, markets or perhaps commercial or light industry.

Here are some things that can be done to avoid a Titanic battle between residents and the airport, and allow an orderly planning process to go forward.

1. The Department of Airports should disavow any actions taken by the present master plan committees, which are stacked with pro-aviation interests. These committees should reflect a balance of homeowner representatives, members of the business community and developers who are interested in commercially developing the available airport properties. City Councilman Marvin Braude, despite numerous requests, refuses to appoint homeowner representatives from south and southeast of the airport to the city advisory panel. This is particularly distressing because Braude knows that most of the committee is composed of pro-aviation interests, including an operator who flies some of the noisiest and oldest jets out of Van Nuys Airport and provides ramp space for tour helicopters.

2. Minutes should be kept of all meetings and open to public inspection. Every effort should be made to solicit maximum public participation in decision making. No secret meetings should be held, and residents affected by airport noise must be included in decision making.

3. Developers should be asked to suggest alternative uses for various vacant sites on the 725-acre airport. The final determination of land use should be based on fair competition for the sites. Selection criteria should include the most benefit to residents, the impact on those living nearby and greatest return to the city of Los Angeles, with full consideration of environmental and infrastructure impacts.

4. There should be broad geographic participation in planning. Community leaders from areas including Encino, Tarzana, Sherman Oaks, Studio City, Valley Village, the Santa Monica Mountains and the Cahuenga Pass must be included in the decision making process.

5. Residents living adjacent to or near airport sites should be involved directly in decision making, and no land uses should be considered unless they have passed the test of “community acceptability.”

6. The master plan must include open space and public facilities and must address parkland needs. The creation of parks, open space or a police station should be thoroughly evaluated. The mid-Valley is greatly in need of an additional police station. A station in proximity to the existing Los Angeles Police Department air support unit may have great merit.

7. The master plan must deal with noise. The present master plan goals are flawed because they deal only with land use. The master plan should throttle back airport operations and not allow them to expand or even remain at present levels. The plan should establish maximum limits on noise, the number of operations, air traffic handling capability, the square footage of hangar space, the number of helicopters and corporate jet tie-downs. It should have a specific timetable for reduction of operations to make the airport safer and quieter.

8. The interests of the small-piston aviation community must be given great weight. A multi-tier rental rate structure may be needed to preserve these operations while discouraging jet and helicopter activities. The master plan should prevent Van Nuys Airport from becoming a major media helicopter center and jet servicing facility.

9. Some fixed-base operators who cater to corporate jets and radio and TV helicopters are making substantial profits which are not being shared fairly with the city. These dominant operators must be made to shoulder a larger share of the airport’s operation, maintenance, administration, security and fire protection costs.

Van Nuys Airport is at a crossroad. It can continue to be a nuisance, or it can be a good neighbor. Our suggestions, if implemented, will go a long way toward securing the continued economic viability of the airport while reducing noise and improving its compatibility with its neighbors.