Stealth Vote Hinders Trust

Maybe it was legal, but last month’s surprise approval of the most expensive city project ever at Van Nuys Airport was a sneaky move by the Los Angeles airport commission--hardly the kind of tactic that promotes trust and faith from a public understandably concerned about the future of the nation’s busiest general aviation airfield.

Times reporter Martha Willman revealed that the commission on Jan. 13 approved spending $11.5 million to repair two World War II hangars damaged in the Northridge earthquake. Although that may seem routine, the approval has the effect of booting a business that has battled the airport commission for the past year over an eviction notice that owners claim is unexplained and unfair. Plus the hangar repair would be the costliest project ever by the city at the airport.

Worse, no mention of the vote was made in the commission’s meeting agenda. Instead, notice of the vote was posted outside the commission’s meeting room at Los Angeles International Airport a day after agendas were mailed. City lawyers insist the posting complied with the Brown Act, the state law requiring governments to function openly. Commissioners may have followed the letter of the law but we have doubts about the spirit.

Airport officials said they are considering relocating tenant Syncro Aircraft Interiors during construction, but the bigger question remains whether the public can trust city technocrats who appear to use the very laws intended to widen participation to thwart it.

The future of Van Nuys Airport is a big question for residents who live nearby and under its flight path. They deserve a commission they can trust to balance their interests with the needs of commercial aviation companies and private pilots. Intentional or not, sneakiness hinders trust.