Paul Clinton
BURBANK -- Although it will slow the push for a new terminal to a
crawl, Burbank city officials praised the Airport Authority's decision to
launch a comprehensive noise study in the hope of obtaining a binding
curfew on night flights.
"It could happen in three years or 30 years," Burbank Airport
Commissioner Charles Lombardo said. "No one knows."
Airport commissioners voted unanimously Monday, with Pasadena
representative Joyce Streator absent, to launch a Part 161 study. That
study will probably cost about $4 million and is expected to take two to
three years to complete, officials said. The authority will pay for the
study.
Cincinnati-based consultant Landrum and Brown has a contract worth
more than $1 million to begin the first phase of the lengthy study, which
would weigh the pros and cons of a curfew and other possible
noise-control measures.
The 161 study, in essence an airport's application to the federal
government for noise-control measures, was established shortly after
Congress passed the Airport Noise and Capacity Act in 1990.
"The 161 is a necessary step in the process of noise mitigation for
Burbank residents," Lombardo said. "You have to go through that."
Landrum and Brown will put together its recommendations about which
noise measures to include in the study and report back to the Airport
Authority in 45 days.
In addition to a flight curfew between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., the
authority will consider requesting a phaseout of noisier Stage 2 planes
during daytime hours and, possibly, a cap on the number of flights or
passengers that use the airport on a yearly basis. It's the airport's
goal to eliminate the louder planes by 2005, airport spokesman Victor
Gill said.
The four-phase study will be sent to the Federal Aviation
Administration once it's completed. The authority plans to keep a narrow
focus in the study, Gill said.
"It's self-defeating to go for an array of measures," Gill said. "It's
calculated to encourage the airport operator to be specific."
The authority will seek input from all parties affected by the
airport, including the Federal Aviation Administration, the cities of
Burbank and Los Angeles, the airlines and residents, Gill said.
