Study Opposes Curbs at Van Nuys Airport

The Los Angeles City Council should reject a proposed law limiting the number of noisier jets at Van Nuys Airport because it would financially cripple the airfield, according to a long-awaited study released Monday by the Los Angeles Department of World Airports.

The study’s conclusions--that some noise limits are bad for business--triggered an angry response from anti-noise activists, who more than a year ago nearly succeeded in persuading the council to prohibit any increase in the number of Stage 2 jets--older and noisier planes--based at the airport.

Instead of imposing the restriction, a council committee ordered the study, pleasing aviation interests, who had argued that the proposed rule could cost 400 jobs and $100 million in annual airport-generated revenues.

The new report, prepared by a New Jersey consultant, Airport Corp. of America, supports those claims, estimating potential losses of up to 565 jobs and more than $190 million within three years.

Some homeowner representatives immediately criticized the study, saying it had not factual basis and was founded on conjecture by aviation interests.

“That’s like going to the penitentiary and asking the convicts what they think of the penal system,” said anti-noise campaigner Gerald Silver of Encino.

But airport officials defended the report, saying that it shows an unexpectedly large turnover of aircraft based at Van Nuys, and that restrictions on aircraft replacements could have wide-ranging implications.

According to the report, between 1994 and 1997, 34 out of 51 Stage 2 jets left their base at Van Nuys and were replaced by 36 other Stage 2 jets. If the rule had been in force, the replacement jets would have been prohibited, causing a significant loss in jobs and revenue and possibly closure of some businesses.

The report concludes that operating limitations “should not be implemented at Van Nuys Airport because of the very real and severe negative economic impact they will have on the airport, its users/tenants and the region.”

Airport Executive Director John J. Driscoll said his staff is considering “various options” for reducing noise without sacrificing business. He declined to say what options may be considered but said he has asked the staff “to take another good, hard look” at alternatives.

“We want to try to balance this situation so that we do, in fact, address the concerns of the community but also maintain a viable economic engine,” Driscoll said in an interview Monday.

The report and its ramifications are to be discussed today before the Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council, an 18-member appointed group representing homeowners, businesses and aviation interests. The 7 p.m. meeting will be held at the Airtel Plaza Hotel, on the edge of the airport at Sherman Way and Valjean Avenue.

Coby King, a council member appointed by City Councilwoman Laura Chick--and a leading supporter of the restrictions on older, noisier aircraft--said Monday that results of the study may indicate that phasing out Stage 2 jets may not be workable. Although he had not seen the full report, King said he was surprised by the conclusions.

“If the figures in the report are correct, the adoption of the rule would appear to have a devastating and unacceptable impact on the airport and the surrounding businesses, and I could not support recommending its adoption,” said King, a communications executive and Encino resident, whose own home is overflown by aircraft from Van Nuys.

The gradual phaseout of noisier aircraft was proposed at Van Nuys in 1989 and the issue has been stalled by political and regulatory debates for the past decade. However, the Federal Aviation Administration agreed in August 1997 to permit restrictions on Stage 2 aircraft. The City Council was on the way toward implementing curbs when action was postponed until the report was issued.