Mark R. Madler
Public comment will begin next week on an initial environmental
impact study of future use of 130 acres adjacent to the Bob Hope
Airport.
The study will be of interest to a group formed in opposition to
expansion at the airport.
"We'll definitely be looking at it to see what it has to say,"
said Howard Rothenbach, a member of Burbank Voters and Taxpayers.
The City Council on Tuesday received a report from the
Burbank-Glendale- Pasadena Airport Authority's environmental
consultant on the study.
The study goes before the Airport Authority commis- sion's Legal
Committee today, and before the full commission on Monday.
The public comment period runs from Monday through Sept. 21.
Comments can be given at a specified hearing on the study, or can be
submitted in writing, Airport Authority spokesman Victor Gill said.
"The initial study leads to a preliminary conclusion as to the
designation of any further environmental analysis," Gill said.
The initial study is part of the process for the city and the
Airport Authority to come to an agreement on the airport's future
use.
In June, the authority and the city came up with a 10-term
proposed agreement aimed at curbing noise at the airport and halting
any talk of a new terminal for a decade. A final agreement is being
negotiated.
That proposed agreement was considered as part of the initial
study, said Peter Kirsch, the city's attorney for airport issues.
"The way the process works is the authority has to prepare this
document before an agreement is submitted," Kirsch said.
The initial environmental study looks at 16 factors including air
quality, traffic, land use planning, utilities, hydrology and noise.
"The authority is given a checklist, and yes or no is checked off
as to the possible impact in any particular environmental area," Gill
said.
One of Rothenbach's concerns is that the airport's parking will
increase under the agreement now being worked out between the city
and the airport.
"They are building for an expansion," Rothenbach said.
Another aspect of the proposed agreement is for the airport to
purchase the 27-acre Star Park property to use for valet and
rental-car parking.
Purchase of the property and issuance of bonds to pay for the land
would still need city approval, Gill said.
