Airport to Take Comments on Expansion for 6 Months

In a victory for opponents of airport expansion, Los Angeles International Airport officials announced Tuesday that they will provide a six-month public comment period after the Jan. 18 release of their proposed blueprint for increasing the airport’s capacity.

The decision means that the lengthy public comment period on the environmental impact statement will be pushed well into July, when Los Angeles will have a new mayor and several new City Council members.

Airport opponents believe that the next mayor will be far less likely to push for expansion than Mayor Richard Riordan.

Designed to accommodate 40 million passenger trips annually, LAX this year will handle about 65 million trips. One version of the plan being studied would allow for 89 million passenger trips annually, which critics say would create an excessive amount of air pollution, noise and traffic in surrounding communities that have already been seriously affected by the airport.

Airport officials considered a 45-day comment period for the 12,000-page document, but the county Board of Supervisors asked for 140 days to review it and the Los Angeles City Council requested 180 days.

The authors of the plan initially indicated that they might release the plan this fall, which would have allowed Riordan enough time to try to secure City Council approval for it before he leaves office next year.

Los Angeles World Airports Executive Director Lydia H. Kennard said, “We want to give the public ample time to study and comment on it without the distraction of the holiday season.”