Authority mulls application

BURBANK — The Bob Hope Airport authority voted unanimously on Monday to approve an extended work order to analyze what must be done to complete an application toward imposing an airport curfew.

The Part 161 Application, the first of its kind nationwide, would impose a ban on airport flights between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. if approved by the Federal Aviation Authority.

The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority started the 161 study in the summer of 2000 and spent $6 million trying to finish it, airport spokesman Victor Gill said. The authority planned to finish the study and fill out the application until it received concerns from the FAA.

“The FAA threw us a curveball and submitted substantive comments before we filed the application,” said Dan Feger, the authority’s interim executive director. “This dramatically affects how we will move forward with the study.”

The FAA sent the authority a list of issues on June 13 concerning its 161 application, including the impact of the curfew on other regional airports and the need for an environmental assessment, according to the FAA documents.

The authority will work with Burlingame-based Jacobs Consultancy Inc. to open up dialogue with the FAA to further analyze its comments and help complete the application. The work order with Jacobs Consultancy will not exceed $98,500, Gill said.

“The process of filing the 161 application is intended to be a gauntlet. It is very hard to survive,” he said. “The reason that Bob Hope is the first airport to file it is because other airports have started the progress, realized its complexity and abandoned their efforts.”

Authority members, including former President Carl Povilaitis and Pasadena Commissioner Chris Holden, expressed concerns about expecting too much.

“The FAA is not intending on being reasonable; they don’t want to complicate our lives to give us a pathway to success,” Holden said. “I support staff and the authority to do everything we can, but we also need at every turn to manage our expectations and be realistic about what we are up against.”

Feger answered Holden’s concerns by saying the work order is limited in gauging the chances of FAA approval.

“We need to spend some time with the FAA to fully understand the hurdles they have put in out way,” he said. “At the conclusion of this agreement, we plan to come before the authority to tell you where we stand.”

 ALISON TULLY covers City Hall and public safety. She may be reached at (818) 637-3242 or by e-mail at alison.tully@ latimes.com.