Burbank Suit Against Airport Expansion Is Rejected

A lawsuit brought by the city in an attempt to prevent the proposed expansion of Burbank Airport, unless city officials approve the project, was rejected Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court.

The lawsuit sought to overturn part of the charter of the airport, which is jointly operated by three cities--Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena. Under charter rules approved in 1991, only a simple majority of the Airport Authority’s nine commissioners--three from each city--is needed to approve measures.

The lawsuit demanded that construction projects be approved by a “super majority” that would require agreement by at least two of the three commissioners from each city.

The judge rejected the lawsuit as coming too late after the charter rules were established.

Airport Executive Director Thomas Greer called the court ruling “a total victory.” City officials could not be reached for comment on the ruling.

Earlier Thursday, airport administrators deposited $39 million at Superior Court in their ongoing attempts to buy about 130 acres from Lockheed Martin Corp. for a larger passenger terminal.

Airport officials, who last August filed to acquire the Lockheed property through condemnation, said $39 million covers the appraised value after cleanup of soil contamination.

“We’re not asking for possession at this time, but we wanted to establish the property’s value for purposes of this litigation before too much time went by,” said Hodge L. Dolle Jr., a lawyer representing the airport.

The lawsuit was filed last summer after Lockheed rejected the airport’s offer to buy the land for $3 million--$39 million, minus $36 million in estimated cleanup costs. Ultimately, a judge could determine the price.

Lockheed officials expect more than $100 million for the land.

The case is pending in Superior Court. A court commissioner last summer rejected the airport governing board’s attempt to take immediate possession of the land, but granted officials access for appraisal and environmental testing.

“We reserve our rights to further modify the estimated value of the property pending the results of our ongoing environmental investigation of the site, which we expect to continue for several months longer,” Greer said.

The $39 million included $25.2 million in Federal Aviation Administration grants for the land acquisition, $12.1 million in passenger fees--a $3 charge applied to each departing passenger’s ticket, which until last week was approved for collection only--and $1.7 million from the airport’s cash reserves, airport officials said.

Correspondent Steve Ryfle contributed to this story.