Terminal still up in the air

Laura Sturza

While Federal Aviation Administration Administrator Marion Blakey is

not tying a new terminal to a curfew on flights from

Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport, officials know the two go hand in

hand for locals.

“Try going to the residents of Burbank and saying, ‘We want your

support for a new terminal, and we’ll talk about the noise

restrictions in a few months,’ ” Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Burbank) said.

“That’s just not going to fly.”

Blakey met with local representatives in Washington, D.C., last

week, and asked that they promptly submit a detailed terminal plan to

her.

“[She asked them] to make a decision in a 60-day period to replace

the old terminal, or failing that, to refund to us the $46 million in

FAA grants,” FAA spokesman Paul Turk said.

The grants were used to pay for the $86-million former Lockheed

B-6 property that the airport bought for a new facility. The amount

of grant money has been estimated from $42 million to $46 mil- lion,

and is part of the information Blakey wants in 60 days, Airport

Authority spokesman Victor Gill said.

“The FAA wants a review of the grant funds,” said Dios Marrero,

the airport’s executive director, at Monday’s Airport Authority

meeting. “We haven’t even begun to think about [how the airport would

pay the money back].”

A mandatory overnight curfew can be granted only by the FAA. The

airport is conducting a noise analysis, expected to be completed next

year, which is the first step toward gaining the agency’s approval

for a curfew.

The airport had said a new terminal was needed to meet federal

guidelines for a 750-foot distance from terminal to runway. Burbank’s

terminal is 300 feet from the runway; the FAA says it is safe.

“The agency’s position is that [a replacement terminal is] a local

decision,” Turk said when asked if the FAA prefers that Burbank build

a new terminal.

But Sherman doesn’t think Blakey would mind if her agency recouped

$46 million.

“I’m not sure she hates that result as much as the rest of us,” he

said.

The Burbank City Council was scheduled to talk about the FAA

meeting at its regular Tuesday meeting.