Council Candidates Oppose LAX Plan

All three candidates running in a City Council district that includes Los Angeles International Airport said Tuesday that they oppose the airport modernization plan backed by outgoing incumbent Cindy Miscikowski and will fight to have it scrapped.

The candidates -- Flora Gil Krisiloff, Angela Reddock and Bill Rosendahl -- are competing in the March election for the council seat Miscikowski must give up because of term limits.

Their opposition to the LAX plan will be popular in the district, where many voters already find the airport a nuisance, and it could complicate the pending City Council debate over whether to approve the $9-billion modernization plan.

“We still have concerns about traffic and the impact on our individual neighborhoods,” said Reddock, an attorney who lives in Westchester.

It remains to be seen whether the three candidates, who called on the council to reject the compromise plan agreed to by Miscikowski and Mayor James K. Hahn, will be able to influence the outcome.

The plan is scheduled for hearings this afternoon at City Hall and a final vote by the City Council on Dec. 14, well before the winner of the 11th District race takes office in July.

However, Rosendahl, a college teacher who has been endorsed by seven of the 15 council members, believes some of his supporters on the City Council share his concerns, and he intends to testify against the plan at upcoming council hearings.

“The Hahn-Miscikowski plan must be rejected,” Rosendahl said. “It is a flawed proposal that fails to protect the community against expansion, noise, pollution, traffic and the threat of terrorist attack.”

Miscikowski had some of the same concerns about the plan, known as Alternate D, and proposed a compromise that puts the least controversial elements -- including the relocation of runways for safety purposes and an elevated tram -- in a first phase that would move ahead quickly.

Miscikowski’s plan, which she calls the “consensus plan,” would create a second phase that would include tearing down three existing terminals and building a central check-in facility at Manchester Square near the San Diego Freeway. That phase, under Miscikowski’s plan, would not break ground before further analysis is conducted.

All three candidates oppose building a single check-in center at Manchester Square because they believe it is expensive, will not substantially improve security and will affect nearby neighborhoods.

Krisiloff, founder of the Brentwood Community Council, said she appreciates what Miscikowski has attempted to do, but said the Manchester Square project and other controversial elements must be permanently eliminated.

She said Miscikowski’s plan merely slows down implementation of a check-in center at Manchester Square. “Manchester Square should never be built,” Krisiloff said.

Reddock agreed that funneling all passengers through a new central check-in building at Manchester Square might not enhance security. “It just makes it a target for terrorists,” Reddock said.

Miscikowski refused to comment Tuesday on the criticism.