A Balance Sheet for LAX Growth

A proposed $12-billion expansion of Los Angeles International Airport would significantly increase air and noise pollution, particularly in the minority and low-income communities just east of the airport, according to environmental studies released Thursday.

At the same time, the report said, airport expansion would create tens of thousands of construction and airport service jobs, improve traffic flows around the airport and keep Los Angeles competitive with other major airports in the West.

The long-awaited report, which was accompanied by an updated plan designed to guide LAX’s growth over the next 15 years, was the latest step in a prolonged debate over the future of airport growth in Southern California. The document will be reviewed for months and is almost certain to be the subject of lawsuits.

The expansion plan developed and favored by Los Angeles World Airports, the city agency that runs LAX and three other airports, envisions boosting annual traffic from the current 65 million passenger trips a year to 89 million by 2015.

The increased service mostly would be accomplished by using larger jumbo jets rather than by significantly increasing the number of flights, airport officials say. The plan calls for a modest number of new flights daily.

Many of the proposed changes to LAX, such as new airline gates and longer runways, are designed to accommodate the larger airliners. Other improvements would include a new terminal, new cargo facilities and an automated people mover.

To reduce the effects of expansion on streets and highways serving LAX, the airport is proposing a new expressway from the San Diego Freeway leading into the airport and an extension of the Metro Rail Green Line. The plan also calls for accelerating a program to soundproof homes in the flight path.

Airport officials estimate they will have to move 240 businesses and residents of 84 homes because of construction or noise.

Two larger expansion plans also were reviewed and found to have more environmental problems. They would add a runway and boost passenger traffic to 98 million trips a year. But because of community opposition, the plans are out of favor with city officials.

The favored plan drew immediate fire from critics. Some complained about the effect on minority and low-income communities, while others expressed suspicion that the traffic would grow far beyond what planners project.

Expansion ‘Vital,’ Mayor Says

Meantime, Mayor Richard Riordan, who is leading the charge for a bigger LAX, said expansion is “absolutely vital” to the city’s economic health.

“Preserving its ability to function smoothly and efficiently, while still protecting our airport’s neighbors, is as necessary and fundamental as keeping our local roads and water systems in top working order,” Riordan said.

A powerful coalition of city business interests, labor unions and airlines supports the expansion plan.

But there is also a long list of opponents. They include residents of neighboring communities, such as El Segundo and Inglewood, who say they already have more traffic, air pollution and noise from the airport than they can handle. Joining them are officials of cities in San Bernardino and Riverside counties, who are trying to build or expand airports in their own communities and believe a huge investment in LAX would stifle their own growth.

A section of the report titled “environmental justice” provides even more fuel to opponents like Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Los Angeles), a longtime critic of the airport and ardent foe of expansion. Waters said environmental problems are already at a critical stage, even without expansion.

“We have been complaining bitterly about the noise, the traffic congestion and the pollution,” Waters said during a telephone interview from her office in Washington. “Residents of Inglewood have suffered mightily at the hands of LAX. LAX has not been a good neighbor. People are very angry.”

The environmental justice section of the report on airport expansion represents a new area of study required by federal regulators. Traditionally, a project’s impact on air quality, land use, endangered species and other issues is assessed. Now, because of an executive order issued by President Clinton, studies must include assessments of projects’ adverse health and environmental effects on low-income and minority communities.

The study said that the LAX expansion plan will not only have “a disproportionate impact” on minority and low-income communities east of the airport, but that traditional mitigation measures will not be enough to adequately address the problem. The result, the report said, will require mitigation measures such as expansion of a soundproofing program and opportunities for residents in the most heavily affected areas to be relocated.

Authors of the report found that the airport expansion plan could have “significant impacts” on air quality throughout the Los Angeles region--but mostly on poor neighborhoods--by releasing greater quantities of the pollutant that causes smog and other toxic air pollutants.

“Health effects associated with these pollutants--particularly chronic respiratory diseases such as asthma--have been found to be more prevalent among certain minority populations, and may be more severe in children and low-income populations who lack good access to health care,” the report said.

As a result, the report continued, “these air quality impacts have the potential to affect minority and low-income individuals more severely than the general population.”

Authors of the plan said that, because of the lack of information, health risks caused by the expansion “cannot be quantified or fully analyzed.”

Lydia H. Kennard, executive director of Los Angeles World Airports, said plans to mitigate the noise and air quality effects are already underway.

Task Force Created to Study Expansion

An Environmental Justice Task Force has been formed by the airport agency to deal with noise, land use and air quality problems related to LAX expansion.

Kennard argues that overall, the expansion plan will provide significant relief for current problems. She said a new expressway and extension of the Century Freeway and the Metro Rail Green Line into the airport would relieve traffic congestion. She also said larger jets would allow the airport to deal with more passengers without significantly increasing flights.

“We are looking at extraordinary growth in both passenger and cargo demand,” Kennard said. “No matter what we do, even if we do nothing, LAX will continue to grow. We now operate 50% over capacity every single day and that is not going to change.”

Passenger demand in the region is expected to grow to 157 million trips a year by 2020, according to the Southern California Assn. of Governments. The plan favored by Los Angeles World Airports assumes that other facilities in the region--such as the proposed El Toro airport in Orange County--will pick up much of that traffic.

The planned El Toro airport is expected to be tied up in legal and political knots for years.

In a statement released Thursday, opponents fighting El Toro said those who think Orange County is an answer to LAX’s problems “ignore the operational, safety and practical realities that plague the El Toro airport plan.”

Some critics worry that LAX is setting itself up to shoulder nearly all the future demand. For that reason, Rep. Jane Harman (D-Torrance) for the first time came out Thursday against expansion.

“I cannot support the plan unveiled today,” she said. “LAX was originally designed to handle 40 million annual passengers, but has grown to 65 million annual passengers. The plan unveiled today proposes to increase that volume to 89 million, but there is nothing to prevent all 157 million projected for the region over the next 20 years from arriving at LAX.”

El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon, who has helped organize a coalition of more than 100 cities and other interests opposed to LAX expansion, said an airport claim that it can boost passenger trips while keeping roughly the same number of takeoffs and landings “makes no sense.”

“It doesn’t even pass the laugh test,” said Gordon. “The bottom line is more passengers mean more planes. More planes mean more noise, more pollution, more congestion.”

After a 180-day public response period, the expansion plan will go to the Airport Commission for approval, then to the City Council and, finally, to the Federal Aviation Administration. Because of the time it usually takes to review and act on such plans, there are predictions the proposal may not reach the City Council until early next year.

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LAX Expansion Plan

A $12-billion proposal to expand Los Angeles International Airport would significantly increase air and noise pollution, according to an environmental review released Thursday. Some airport improvements such as a new expressway and Green Line extension would mitigate the impact and relieve traffic congestion. Noise and construction would require the airport to remove about 320 homes and businesses.

Expansion highlights:

1. Automated people mover

2. More gates for large planes

3. New West Terminal and concourses

4. New parking

5. Century Freeway extension

6. Green Line extension 7. LAX Expressway from I-405

8. Airport ring road links to Century

9. Freeway Extension

10. Extended runway length

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Sources: Los Angeles World Airports, Times research