Residents Protest Airport Expansion Plan

Citing fears of increased jet engine noise and traffic congestion, more than 150 residents crowded into City Hall Tuesday night to urge the City Council to oppose the proposed expansion of Burbank Airport.

The members of the council and their representatives on the airport’s governing body didn’t need much convincing.

“You cannot talk to each other in your home,” said Margie Gee, who represents the city on the airport authority and lives in the airport’s flight path.

“My fruit trees in my yard are covered with an oily slime.”

Indeed, the City Council has on several occasions expressed its opposition to the airport plan and even filed lawsuits to prevent it from going forward.

But following an evaluation of the airport proposal by the city planner, the council sought public comment.

The public was only too happy to oblige.

“The plan is to develop a Taj Majal, and this is not justified,” said Burbank resident Don Elsmore, of the plan to expand the main terminal to 465,000 square feet, three times the size of the existing terminal.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which oversees the airport’s operation, plans to build the new terminal on 130 acres owned by Lockheed Martin Corp.

More than a decade ago, the Federal Aviation Administration recommended moving the terminal farther from the runways for safety reasons. Also, airport officials say they need a much bigger terminal. Consultants have estimated that 10 million passengers a year will fly in and out the airport by 2010. It now serves 4 million annually.

But Burbank has used its three airport commissioners on the nine-member board and legal action to thwart the expansion proposal.

The city’s efforts have also been boosted by Lockheed’s contention that too little money has been offered for the land, which has some soil contamination.

Last year, the airport offered $3 million--$39 million to cover the appraised value minus $36 million in estimated cleanup cost for the site. Lockheed rejected the offer and asked for $100 million, airport officials have said.

But in early August, with Burbank commissioners dissenting, the airport board used its eminent domain powers and voted to condemn the triangular parcel northwest of the existing terminal.