Stein Approved for Return to Airport Panel

Without the fireworks of his past confirmation hearings, the Los Angeles City Council on Friday voted 12 to 0 to appoint Theodore O. Stein to serve on the Airport Commission after he promised to push for a regional approach to airport issues.

Stein--a dogged, tough-talking lawyer-developer--has long been a controversial figure in and out of City Hall. Among other things, Stein once was a leading advocate of expanding Los Angeles International Airport, a position he pushed during his tenure as a commissioner during the administration of former Mayor Richard Riordan.

But Friday, Stein said he would uphold the policies of his new boss, Mayor James K. Hahn, who during his campaign vowed to work with neighboring communities to come up with a comprehensive plan for dealing with air traffic that did not overburden LAX.

Stein, an Encino resident who was president of the Airport Commission from 1993 to 1996 during the Riordan administration, assured the council that it would be “extraordinarily easy” to support Hahn’s vision for a regionwide airport system.

“You serve to implement the mayor’s policy,” said Stein, who unsuccessfully challenged Hahn for city attorney in 1997, but then supported his mayoral candidacy and helped raise money for him. “I believe this commission will work very diligently to bring about a regional solution.”

His comments no doubt also soothed concerns in the mayor’s office, which sources said was divided over bringing back the controversial figure.

Riordan and his staff also occasionally had misgivings about Stein, who was fired by Riordan from the Harbor Commission after Stein announced his support for Hahn in the mayor’s race. Riordan opposed Hahn’s candidacy.

In addition to confirming Stein, the council also voted to approve Mayor Hahn’s four other Airport Commission appointees, all of them also expressing support for a regionalized plan. In addition to LAX, the commission oversees the Ontario and Palmdale airports.

Several council members warned the commissioners Friday that they would be closely monitoring their actions to see not only how they handle LAX issues, but also how they cope with the Van Nuys Airport, where neighbors for years have complained about noise.

“Just don’t let the Van Nuys Airport issue become a stepchild,” Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski told the commissioners.

Stein and Commissioner Eileen Levine said they do not yet have positions on the extent to which the city should limit noisy Stage II jets at Van Nuys Airport.

Ruth Galanter, whose council district includes LAX, said it was “music to my ears” to hear that the commissioners are willing to consider expanding facilities other than LAX, including Palmdale Airport.

“This has been a very long fight for me,” she said. “I hope this is going to work out well for all of us, including the mayor.”

Until the last minute, some officials expected at least some opposition to emerge over Stein’s proposed appointment, given his history.

For example, the council vote to confirm him to the Harbor Commission in 1998 was 11 to 3, with opponents citing Stein’s controversial hiring of Whitewater figure Webster Hubbell as a lobbyist for the Airports Department.

Away from City Hall, Stein has riled some neighborhood leaders in the San Fernando Valley with housing developments that opponents claimed were out of place and approved only because of his insider status with city officials.

Stein the Developer Created Controversies

In 1998, Stein angered residents in North Hills by winning city approval of a townhome development that opponents said would create traffic problems and change the single-family-home character of the neighborhood. Opponents also argued that townhomes should not be built under the flight path of Van Nuys Airport.

More recently, Stein won City Council approval of a 21-home development in Chatsworth in June, despite complaints that the project included small lots that would not allow the keeping of horses. Some residents argued that was incompatible with the equestrian uses of the other properties in the neighborhood.

Susan Eskander, a neighborhood activist, claimed that Stein refused to meet with neighbors of the project, which she said did not bode well for his accessibility as a commissioner. Stein disputed criticism that he has not been open to meeting with Chatsworth residents about his controversial development there.

And in recent days, his large financial holdings have also raised a red flag with some. The city Ethics Commission agreed Wednesday to issue a “cautionary letter” to Stein, alerting him to the fact that some of his business interests could pose a conflict of interest as an airport commissioner.

In particular, the commission noted that Stein holds stock in UPS and Federal Express, two companies that are tenants of the city Airports Department, as well as several communications firms that do business in the city.

Even so, council members seemed unwilling to take on Stein for his past controversies Friday. At one point during the relatively short confirmation hearing, Councilman Nate Holden referred to Stein as the “fall guy” for the Riordan administration.