FAA Is the Best Hope for Burbank Airport

More than 15 years ago, the Federal Aviation Administration, citing safety concerns, ordered construction of a new terminal at Burbank Airport. Today the old terminal is just as inadequate and unsafe as it was then, yet not a shovel has been turned or brick laid to replace it.

For this I blame the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. From the beginning, the authority has pursued a stonewalling strategy, creating the illusion--through meetings, telephone hotlines and the like--that it is responsive to the community while in reality disregarding its neighbors and refusing to negotiate in good faith.

It should now be clear to all that this strategy, which has resulted in zero progress toward a new terminal in almost two decades, has been a complete failure.

I strongly support the building of a new terminal. I agree with the authority that the current facility is too close to the runway and doesn’t offer the amenities that travelers expect and deserve. But I will continue to fight the authority’s plans until it acknowledges that expansion must be undertaken on terms that make sense to the entire community.

San Fernando Valley residents are understandably concerned about the prospect of more flights and aircraft noise that will inevitably come with terminal expansion. They are also worried about the implications of increased air traffic in an area that already has the highest concentration of serious near-midair collision reports in the country. But the authority has ignored these legitimate issues and seems to believe that it can outlast opponents and eventually get everything it wants.

This is an incredibly shortsighted view. Leaders in affected communities are determined to fight as hard and as long as the authority. Voters in Burbank have elected to their City Council a majority that campaigned on reining in the airport. Eight lawsuits related to terminal expansion are pending, and appeals are likely to drag on for years. Burbank and Los Angeles have vowed to use their zoning powers to slow the expansion. Opposition to the authority is gaining--not losing--strength.

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It’s time to try something new.

The FAA represents the best hope for breaking the logjam at Burbank. It is the only entity with both the clout and the credibility to help all the parties reach an agreement.

Past FAA administrators have been extremely reluctant to get involved in what they perceive as a messy local dispute. But the new FAA administrator, Jane Garvey, brings a whole new perspective to the agency. A former director of Logan International Airport in Boston--and before that a community activist--Garvey has an appreciation for the dynamics of such disputes. Unlike her predecessors, she understands that some local conflicts are so intractable that FAA participation is warranted.

Garvey has agreed to work with us to establish a fair and inclusive process to address and resolve the many outstanding issues related to the proposed new terminal. She also has pledged to come to the Valley in the near future to meet with the interested parties. This is the first time the FAA has made such a strong commitment to help achieve an agreement.

With the FAA at the table, talks will not be stymied by the authority’s refrain that “the FAA won’t let us do that.” That excuse--a smoke screen--has been used by the authority to avoid taking unwanted actions.

The FAA will work with the parties to craft a mutually acceptable package. This should include some reasonable restrictions on flights--among them a nighttime curfew--that require agency approval. It should also provide for departures to the east when weather conditions and aircraft specifications are consistent with the strictest safety standards.

The important point for now is not the specifics of any plan, which have been widely discussed, but the fact that the FAA administrator and other top officials are ready to help establish a process for reaching a reasonable compromise.

Burbank Mayor Bob Kramer and Burbank City Councilman Ted McConkey are extremely supportive of FAA involvement because they, too, believe that the process cannot move forward without some extraordinary impetus. The authority, as expected, downplays the notion that bringing in the FAA will make a difference.

I hope and expect that Garvey’s pledge to get involved and her visit to the area will spur the interested parties to enter into serious and productive negotiations.

I don’t want to see another 15 years go by without a new terminal.

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Rep. Howard L. Berman, a Democrat, represents portions of the San Fernando Valley, including those near the airport’s flight path.