Disagreements Between Agencies Could Delay Hahn’s LAX Proposal

Arguments between the city and county over an obscure county plan designed to monitor noise and safety in communities around airports could delay for months Mayor James K. Hahn’s modernization plan for Los Angeles International Airport.

The plan reflects conditions at LAX in 1991, the year it was drafted by the county.

County planners contend that the mayor’s proposal, which looks ahead to 2015, fails to comply with the 1991 plan because Hahn’s proposal would significantly increase noise and safety risks in nearby communities.

The city disagrees, saying the standards of the county plan are hopelessly outdated and Hahn’s plan would decrease noise and increase safety.

The arguments surfaced Monday at hearing by the county’s Airport Land Use Commission.

Commissioners asked why the city hadn’t asked the county to update its plan.

“How long have you been on this project?” Commission Chairwoman Leslie Bellamy asked Jim Ritchie, an executive director at the city’s airport agency.

“Five years,” Ritchie replied.

“During that time, did you make any attempt to work with the county to update the 1991 plan?” Bellamy asked.

“We didn’t notice until we got to this phase that the plan was that old,” Ritchie answered.

“You just found that out?” Bellamy returned.

The tense exchange set the stage for a heated debate between the city and county over how to remake the world’s fifth-busiest airport.

The city runs the airport, but the county’s Board of Supervisors appoints the five-member land-use commission, which is required under state law to ensure that master plans drafted by the region’s airports comply with the county’s Airport Land Use Plan. Supervisors have repeatedly voiced concerns about Hahn’s plan.

If the commission finds that Hahn’s plan does not comply with the county’s airport plan, Hahn will be forced to win a super-majority, 10 votes instead of eight, on the 15-member City Council, to pass his $9-billion proposal. Procedural requirements could postpone a final decision for months.

After five hours of testimony Monday, the commission postponed until Aug. 25 a vote on whether Hahn’s proposal complies as necessary with the 1991 plan. Hahn’s proposal was approved by the city’s airport and planning commissions in June.