Paul Clinton
CIVIC CENTER -- Burbank has put the Federal Aviation Administration on
the clock.
Frustrated by FAA criticism of the proposed terminal deal, city
officials called off negotiations on the formal agreement Friday. The
federal agency has until the end of the month to clarify its position on
the project and offer guidance on how the parties can move ahead. The
alternative? No deal, according to Burbank officials.
"The real purpose here is to get a clear and unequivocal answer from
the agency," Burbank's airport attorney Peter Kirsch said. "The point is
having the agency tell us that they'll help us implement the framework."
In a Feb. 3 letter to Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority
President Carl Meseck, Mayor Stacey Murphy announced the city was halting
work on a development agreement for a new terminal proposed in the Aug. 4
Framework for Settlement. That agreement -- negotiated by Murphy,
Councilman Dave Golonski and other city officials with members of the
authority -- calls for a 14-gate, 330,000-square-foot terminal suitable
for expansion if certain conditions are met.
City and airport officials have continued to hash out details of the
formal agreement with the airport and FAA staff, Kirsch said. But FAA
chief Jane Garvey blasted the framework, in a Nov. 22 letter published
Jan. 2 in the Los Angeles Times. In her letter, Garvey said elements of
the framework, which includes a proposal to close the terminal at night,
violate federal law.
On Tuesday, Murphy said Burbank's demand for further FAA guidance by
the end of February was reasonable, since the agency has been kept
abreast of the negotiations. Officials have even provided the agency with
drafts of the development agreement, officials said.
"This is no surprise to them and it certainly gives them enough time,"
Murphy said. "I cannot spend any more taxpayer money on something that we
don't know will go forward. That seems like a waste."
Former City Councilman Ted McConkey, who launched a
signature-gathering campaign for an initiative that would impose more
stringent conditions on any new terminal agreement, said Friday's
announcement was an attempt to muscle the FAA.
"Jane Garvey trumps a city council," McConkey said. "This woman has
the power."
City officials have been angered at what they say are contradictory
remarks from Garvey. Garvey visited Burbank in August 1998 and instructed
the city and airport to find a "local solution" to the terminal expansion
stalemate.
The framework is that solution, Murphy said.
"We did come up with a solution," Murphy said. "Now we need clear
guidance."
