Group in D.C. for Burbank Airport Talks

In an unprecedented joint effort, Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena city leaders and several members of Congress will meet with Federal Aviation Administration officials in Washington today to discuss topics involving the Burbank Airport. But the talks will likely leave the most controversial issues -- a new terminal and flight curfews -- unresolved for now.

Several officials said the most important goal for their meeting with FAA Administrator Marion C. Blakey will be to present a united front among entities that in the past had been deeply divided over airport issues.

The delegation, which will include Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority commissioners, plans to ask Blakey to appoint an FAA official to participate in local discussions over a possible new terminal and nightly flight curfews.

Officials also plan to ask the FAA to expedite a process that the airport must complete before it can seek the agency’s permission to adopt curfews to reduce noise at night. But they will not ask the FAA to comment on whether a new terminal should be built or the terms under which it should be built, or seek a commitment to approve noise restrictions, according to a document circulated among participants before the trip.

“The issues involving the airport are quite complex,” Burbank Councilman David Golonski said. “What we hope to kick off is a dialogue.”

Last November, after a failed two-decade effort to build a new terminal, airport commissioners -- in a 5-4 decision -- voted to abandon the project because of heavy community opposition. But Burbank officials pushed to revive the project, saying the FAA might be more likely to permit curfews if the airport built a safer, more modern terminal in exchange. They then asked others to join them for a trip to Washington to seek clarification.

Airport watchers say they are disappointed that the much-touted mission to Washington is sidestepping difficult issues.

“I thought they would try harder to get a more definitive answer out of [the FAA] as to relocation of a terminal,” said Mary Lou Howard, a former Burbank councilwoman and former airport commissioner. “That’s what everyone is interested in, the new terminal.”

Burbank resident Don Elsmore said, “This is just posturing our officials are putting on to get recognition that they are working on [airport issues]....Why do we need all these high muck-a-mucks to go to Washington in horrible weather when the same could be accomplished in a letter?”

Participants say a meeting is vital because Blakey was appointed only last fall to the agency with the power to approve curfews for reducing noise, a key issue for Burbank voters.

Chris Holden, president of the Airport Authority and a Pasadena city councilman, said, “We don’t have a clear agenda or proposal, but maybe it sets the stage for later discussions that are more specific. You got a room full of politicians: Who knows what’s going to come out of anyone’s mouth?”