Airport talks on standby

Paul Clinton

CIVIC CENTER -- Los Angeles officials say they are gearing up to air

their concerns about the proposed new airline terminal but they have yet

to schedule meetings with representatives of Burbank and the airport.

Los Angeles Deputy City Atty. Keith Pritsker said he hoped to schedule

an initial gathering in the next couple weeks. The Los Angeles City

Council passed a resolution Nov. 10 calling for the talks.

Meanwhile, Burbank officials said Monday they were waiting for a call.

“The city is happy to meet with L.A. at this juncture,” said Peter

Kirsch, Burbank’s special counsel on airport issues. “We’re waiting to

hear from them at this point.”

Los Angeles has threatened to sue Burbank and the airport if its

concerns were not addressed, but Pritsker said he hoped the meetings

would help keep the two cities and the airport out of court.

“It’s always a good idea to talk about one’s differences with others,”

Pritsker said. “But I really don’t have a sense of what we could

accomplish until we have an initial meeting.”

In late September, Los Angeles officials -- led by L.A. City Atty.

James Hahn -- openly criticized the Aug. 4 framework deal. The deal,

which Burbank will consider in the spring after a series of hearings and

a public advisory vote, calls for a 14-gate, 330,000-square-foot

replacement terminal that could be expanded if the airport meets certain

conditions such as a mandatory flight curfew.

After a wave of criticism from Hahn and others, Burbank invited Los

Angeles to the negotiating table in an Oct. 7 letter from Mayor Stacey

Murphy. In November, Los Angeles Councilman Mike Feuer’s proposal to form

a negotiating team was accepted by the council.

In addition to Pritsker, the Los Angeles contingent will include

representatives from the offices of councilmen Mike Feuer, Joel Wachs,

John Ferraro, Alex Padilla and Nick Pacheco.

Pritsker said he hopes to discuss the noise, traffic and air quality

impacts on Los Angeles from the new terminal. He said he will also raise

Los Angeles’ objection to the framework’s provision seeking a ban on

easterly flights.

The talks could also address a lawsuit Los Angeles filed against the

Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority seeking to force the airport

to develop a plan for future growth, Pritsker said.

Los Angeles is also contemplating an independent noise study of the

impact of jet noise on that city’s San Fernando Valley residents. That

decision is expected in mid-December, said Wachs’ spokesman Tom Henry.