Burbank Mayor Halts Work on Airport Accord

Burbank Mayor Stacey Murphy said Friday that the city will suspend work on a development agreement for a new terminal, charging that federal officials had caved in to the airlines and abandoned a local solution to the expansion of Burbank Airport,

Murphy said the city would resume working toward an agreement only after first receiving assurances that federal authorities would work with the city to settle any potential legal issues, according to a Feb. 3 letter to Carl Meseck, president of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority.

In her letter, the mayor criticized Federal Aviation Administrator Jane Garvey, saying the official had called for the airport and the city to reach a local solution, but then made “unwarranted and irresponsible attacks against the agreement,” when it was concluded.

Burbank’s move comes nearly six months to the day after it ended years of intense fighting by signing a preliminary deal, called a framework for settlement, to build a 14-gate, $300-million terminal.