Paul Clinton
BURBANK -- After missing another crucial deadline, the leaders of an
initiative to limit growth at Burbank Airport acknowledged they wouldn't
be able to offer their petition to voters in the April general election.
Instead, Restore Our Airport Rights, known as ROAR, will look toward
the next round of city elections in 2003.
In order to qualify for the April ballot, members of ROAR -- a group
seeking to require the City Council to secure a mandatory curfew on
flights at night and a cap on aircraft operations -- had to submit their
petition to the City Clerk's office by Wednesday.
The group has been gathering signatures since Sept. 1. Group leader
Howard Rothenbach said ROAR has not collected the required 10% of the
51,085 registered voters. The activist and potential City Council
candidate said he was unruffled by the latest setback.
"This issue is on everyone's mind right now. We have the momentum and
the recognition," Rothenbach said. "But I think it's still going to be an
issue [in 2003]."
The group was also unable to meet the deadline for the Feb. 27 primary
election.
ROAR volunteers, circulating the second incarnation of their petition,
must gather about 5,108 signatures to force the City Council to place it
on a ballot. If ROAR collects 15%, or about 7,662 names, it can force a
special election.
Petition gatherers have 180 days to gather the names. So far,
Rothenbach said the group has 3,000 residents on the petition.
ROAR gathered more than 7,000 names on an earlier petition that was
tossed out by City Clerk Judie Sarquiz because it did not properly
identify the petition's backers. Sarquiz dumped the petition on March 15.
An appeal to the council was also unsuccessful. On March 28, the council
decided not to overrule Sarquiz's decision.
Instead, the council drafted its own airport-related initiative, known
as Measure B, that gives Burbank voters the right to approve any deal for
a replacement airline terminal. It passed by a resounding 80% on Nov. 7.
"I think it is the ultimate answer, the ultimate protection for the
people," City Manager Bud Ovrom said of Measure B. "No matter what
happens, they've got the right to vote on it. I think it's a better
solution [than ROAR's]."
