Airport letter-writing campaign scheduled

For example, they say, LAX could begin operating on the 17,700 acres the Los Angeles Department of Airports owns in Palmdale.

Partnership members voted on Thursday to draft a letter to the Los Angeles City Council and airport officials, asking them to consider the Palmdale acreage in their discussions on alleviating the badly congested airport.

Lancaster Mayor George Runner, Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford and Los Angeles County Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich also are sending separate letters to airport officials to add weight to the community's vision of seeing the airport facilities here expanded.

Larry Chimbole, Palmdale
Regional Airport Advisory Committee chairman, told partnership members their letters are important.

Partnership members invited Chimbole to the meeting for his advice on dealing with airport officials. He suggested studying the number of commuters, using their destinations as a way to prove to potential airport companies there is business here.

"I don't use LAX, I fly from Ontario. It will take 20 years under current environmental laws for them to expand into Santa Monica Bay. My approach would be to make the facility look attractive so they have to use it," Chimbole said.

Six to eight interested companies have looked at the airport in the past year, but nothing has come of those inquiries yet, he said. However, a market study could make the difference, Chimbole said.

"I know the numbers are encouraging, but in a study they could be convincing. I don't know the destinations they go, but I think Sacramento is one of the destinations," he said.

Airport officials are not rejecting Palmdale as an option, Chimbole said, but it will take more than PRAAC to get them moving.

"It's not going to happen in my lifetime, but it could happen in yours," he told the partnership members.