Councilman Opposes Draft Terminal Pact

Burbank City Councilman Bob Kramer said he will oppose the draft agreement for a new Burbank Airport terminal, saying it doesn’t offer enough protections against noise to residents.

“I would rather go on fighting this another 10 years than to vote for the framework,” Kramer said Wednesday, the day after announcing his position at a City Council meeting. “I don’t think there’s enough protection for the people of the city, and I don’t think it’s in the city’s best interest to support it.”

Kramer is the first council member to publicly voice opposition to the terminal framework agreement, although he previously authored a measure approved by the City Council calling for a municipal advisory vote on the agreement.

No date has yet been set for the vote, and city officials are still working to come up with acceptable language for the measure.

Burbank Mayor Stacey Murphy refused comment on Kramer’s position. Councilman David Laurell said he understood Kramer’s frustration but said coming out with a firm position on the framework was premature.

“There’s no way to accurately judge if provisions in the agreement are acceptable to the city,” Laurell said.

The framework agreement, signed in August, calls for construction of a 14-gate, 330,000-square-foot terminal. The agreement calls for closure of the Burbank Airport terminal between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m., linking terminal expansion to a mandatory overnight curfew and a permanent ban on easterly takeoffs.

Those provisions have drawn fire from the airlines; public officials, including three local congressmen, and residents from Burbank and Los Angeles, who contend that the agreement does not protect them from aircraft noise.

Kramer’s comments coincide with the growing rift between the city and the Federal Aviation Administration. City officials have demanded that the FAA clarify its position on the curfew and terminal closure before negotiations proceed on a development agreement.

Kramer denied that there was special timing for his statement.

“I haven’t really said much since the framework was created. but someone asked what I was going to do about it,” he said. “I thought I owed them an honest answer. That’s what I gave them.”