Lolita Harper
AIRPORT DISTRICT -- Burbank residents are not alone in their battle
for control over a neighborhood airport.
Orange County residents have taken an active role in the battle over
the fate of the El Toro Airport.
Measure F, passed in March 2000 by 67% of Orange County residents, was
an attempt to put the fate of the proposed international airport in the
hands of voters. However, the measure -- which called for two-thirds
voter approval for some major public works projects -- was struck down
last month by a Los Angeles Superior Court judge who called it
"fundamentally flawed."
The impact of Judge James Otero's ruling on Burbank's airport
expansion is unknown, local officials said.
"We are looking at [the ruling]," said Peter Kirsch, Burbank special
counsel on airport issues. "It's not clear yet what effect, if any, it
has on Measure B."
Burbank's Measure B is similar to Orange County's Measure F because
both call for voter approval before plans on either airport are
finalized.
But the measures also vary greatly.
Burbank City Atty. Dennis Barlow said that the ruling has no direct
effect on the city of Burbank because Otero's ruling was specific only to
the El Toro airport.
"You have to ask, are they the same issue? I don't think so," Barlow
said.
A major objection Otero had to Measure F was that it violated a rule
specifying that initiatives pertain to only one subject. Orange County's
Measure F contained provisions regarding jails and landfills, in addition
to the airport.
Burbank's Measure B only addresses the airport.
Another reason Otero ruled against Measure F was because its
two-thirds vote requirement violated a section in the state's Elections
Code, which requires only a simple majority vote.
Again, Burbank's Measure B would not face the same scrutiny because it
complies with the election code, only requiring a majority vote.
One of Otero's objections to Measure F, however, does require Burbank
officials to pay special attention: "Measure F improperly requires the
automatic submission of proposals to voters in violation of ... the
California Constitution," the ruling reads.
But Burbank's measure does not require automatic submission to voters;
rather, it gives the city discretion on what the voters will and will not
decide, Barlow said.
Measure B's constitutionality will only come to light if and when an
agreement is made between the city and the airport, officials said. Until
then, the city will continue to monitor implementation of Measure B in
accordance with Otero's decision.
"We will study it and make sure that the city complies fully with our
views of the law as we have been educated by the judge in Orange County,"
Kirsch said.
