FAA Chief, Burbank Leaders Discuss Terminal Plan

Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey told Burbank officials Monday she would try to win airline support for the deal to build a new Burbank Airport terminal if the city can ensure the plan complies with federal law, a Burbank official said.

The airlines have harshly criticized the deal to build the $300-million terminal. They oppose a so-called “backdoor curfew” that would shutter the passenger concourses from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m., as well as long-term plans to formally ban flights from 10 p.m to 7 a.m.

The curfew issue surfaced in Monday’s meeting in Washington, D.C., between FAA officials and Burbank Mayor Stacey Murphy and Peter Kirsch, special counsel for Burbank on airport issues.

It was first meeting between Garvey and city officials since the administrator came to Burbank last year to urge the city and the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority to reach “a local solution” to the airport controversy.

That solution was reached Aug. 3, when Burbank and Airport Authority officials signed a “Framework for Settlement” to replace the 1930s-era terminal building, situated just 250 feet from the airport’s east-west runway.

The tentative deal calls for construction of a 14-gate terminal expandable to 19 gates in a new location, provided airport officials met noise-reduction measures sought by the city of Burbank.

Soon after it was signed, the deal drew fire from the airlines, the FAA, Burbank homeowner groups and politicians.

The airlines have said the terminal closure would violate federal rules designed to ensure that interstate transportation is not restricted by local authorities.

In addition to the curfew, Garvey also raised questions about a provision that would pay the city of Burbank $1.5 million in airport revenue annually to make up for lost property tax revenues, Kirsch said. That money would otherwise go to the airport.

Burbank officials told Garvey during the 45-minute meeting at FAA headquarters that their lawyers would review the proposed payment as well as the legality of closing the passenger terminal at night.

“Garvey offered to work with the city to better educate the airline industry about the framework agreement and about the trade-offs that it requires,” Kirsch said. “We agreed to redouble our efforts to make sure the framework meets with federal law regarding noise and financial issues.”

Murphy said the FAA administrator briefly touched on criticism of the terminal plan but did not discuss specific FAA objections. “She’s been hearing a lot from some of the groups that oppose this plan,” Murphy said. “She needed to hear why it’s important for us to have these protections in place.

“The most important thing for me was to see if the FAA had a willingness to make this happen. And I did get that tone from her,” Murphy added.

Amid escalating criticism of the plan, the Burbank City Council canceled public hearings on the issue this month and has agreed to put the matter before voters in a referendum next spring.

Even then, the plan faces opposition from Los Angeles political leaders, who say a proposed ban on easterly takeoffs would increase noise for their constituents in North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks and Studio City.