Debunking Airport Officials’ ‘Propaganda’

Re: “Squabbles Stall Airport Expansion in Burbank,” Dec. 17.

Again, The Times’ efforts to provide a complete picture of the Burbank Airport’s impact on our communities has fallen short. While peppered with viewpoints on the proposed airport expansion and noise impacts from both sides, the article too often provides only one side of the story, that of pro-airport and federal aviation officials, through extensive use of distorted facts and figures provided by--who else?--airport officials.

One need only look at the noise “footprint” map supposedly depicting “the area affected by airport noise” to determine that the Burbank Airport Authority’s official interpretation of noise impact is way out of sync with reality. Do you really want those of us in Burbank, North Hollywood, Studio City, Sherman Oaks and Valley Village who bear the brunt of virtually all the airport noise to believe that the excessive noise area is limited to a few blocks around the airport? Who are you trying to kid? And as for the oft-repeated notion that “bigger airports don’t create noise, airplanes do,” I can only defer to any reasonable human being to try to make sense of that logic and conclude that a larger Burbank Airport won’t lead to more aircraft noise.

The more than 1,500-household-strong Studio City Residents Assn. supports Burbank Airport’s presence in the Valley and acknowledges the positive economic impacts. These facts have never been disputed. Yet residents and businesses are also painfully aware of how the full absorption of the Burbank Airport noise impacts us. The sad fact is that this problem is solvable but airport officials don’t seem to want any solution except exactly the one they propose. It will only take the Burbank Airport Authority and federal aviation representatives to recognize the true impact of their operations on the Valley and work with residents and businesses to negotiate agreement on the noise-mitigation measures that have been presented numerous times. But if instead they continue to disseminate their never-ending babble of airport propaganda (which The Times seems to swallow hook, line and sinker), our opposition to current and proposed airport operations will continue to roar as loud as the planes overhead.

TONY LUCENTE

Studio City

Lucente is president of the Studio City Residents Assn.