Ron Vanderford
There are many issues in the editorial "FAA double talk" of Jan. 15
with which I disagree.
The underlying problem with the "Framework for Settlement" proposed by
Mayor Stacey Murphy and Councilman David Golonski is it attempts to short
cut the required procedure, a Federal Aviation Administration Part 161
study. Short cuts usually don't work; FAA administrator Jane Garvey's
letter is proof that the framework, like most other short cuts, is not
likely to work either.
All in all, I would categorize the the Framework for Settlement as the
second-worst hoax to be visited upon Burbank residents in the 25 years I
have lived here. The worst, of course, was the formation of the original
Joint Powers Agreement to operate the airport.
The question is not so much what is wrong with the Framework for
Settlement, but rather what is right with it. Not much, in my opinion. It
is difficult to see how Murphy and Golonski could possibly have done any
worse. The framework contemplates the city giving up its only bargaining
chip in negotiations, the right to determine land use. What does Burbank
get in return? A collection of pipe dreams in which the FAA, the airport
and the airlines are going to treat Burbank residents right because we
were nice enough to roll over. The framework is a sucker deal, and should
its provisions be put in effect, we Burbank residents will be treated
like suckers for allowing the City Council to get by with it.
Regardless of where one might stand on the issue, the proposed ban on
flights to the east was a monument to political incorrectness. It was a
slap in the face to congressmen Berman, Sherman and Waxman. How Mayor
Murphy and Councilman Golonski thought they could get by with it I don't
know. To me, it unmasks the naivete of Murphy and Golonski regarding all
of the airport issues.
The misinformation about how airlines cannot depart to the east
because of the mountains, etc. is simply that, misinformation. During the
1980s, when the north-south runway was undergoing repairs, I recall very
clearly watching airliners depart to the east. Administrator Garvey's
suggestion that the proposed ban on easterly flights to be dropped from
the framework pretty well tells the whole story.
Once the terminal is relocated we will likely see airliners passing
over all parts of Burbank. The question is how many? The answer will
probably be determined by two factors. One is the increase in the total
number of flights that the newly expanded terminal will bring. The other
