Avoid the Turbulence

Diplomacy has never been a hallmark in the debate over the future of Burbank Airport. Critics and supporters of plans to build a new passenger terminal at the cramped airport routinely sneer at each other and pay their respective legal teams vast sums to skewer opponents in court. But even in this relatively rude arena, Pasadena City Councilman William Paparian’s suggestion to turn Burbank Airport into an international facility stands out as a particularly clumsy move that promises to further aggravate relations between Burbank and the partner cities, including Pasadena, with which it governs the airfield.

Paparian’s idea may have technical merit. It may be possible, as he suggests, to accommodate international flights serving Mexico and Canada without changing runway configurations or flight patterns. And Paparian correctly observes that any planning for customs and immigration facilities should be done as early as possible in the terminal design process. But reason rarely figures prominently in the visceral debate over how big the airport should be and how much noise it should be allowed to generate.

The Times supports a new terminal to replace an aging facility that fills to capacity during peak hours and sits too close to the runway. A bigger terminal with more gates needs to be built. But only with the support of Burbank. Although the city shares oversight of the airport with Glendale and Pasadena, it bears the brunt of noise and traffic. Its positions on these issues have been intractable and the city has lost key rounds in court. The Times has urged city officials to seek compromise rather than continue spending public money on lawyers.

Compromise works only when all sides want it to. That means officials from Glendale and Pasadena must understand the special needs and responsibilities of their counterparts in Burbank. City councils are sworn to protect the interests of the residents they serve. In Burbank, the council believes--rightly or wrongly--that an unchecked expansion of the airport will have a negative effect on the community. Inflammatory suggestions like Paparian’s international terminal do little to calm those fears.

Before laying plans to improve a new terminal with extras like a customs office, expansion supporters ought to first get agreement on the most basic expansion plans. That requires diplomacy and determination by all sides. A new terminal will be built in Burbank--eventually. Whether it will be a monument to cooperation or a bitter reminder of past fights is up to Burbank, to Glendale and to Pasadena.