Burbank Airport - hardly a role model

Editorial Focus: There is a possibility that Burbank Airport, which has been ground zero in a longrunning war, will be able to expand sometime in the future. Antelope Valley can learn a few lessons from the battles that have raged in trying to enlarge that small-acreage commercial field.

We can learn from the many mistakes made in the Los Angeles Basin.

For decades the local mantra has been, "We don't want to be another San Fernando Valley."

The L.A. Basin grew up too fast with not enough flat-earth terrain to sustain the development that now holds nearly 10 million people.

In every case, residential development has encroached upon the basin's airports - LAX, Ontario, Van Nuys and Burbank.

It now appears that after a 20year dogfight among opposing special interest groups, the 69-yearold Burbank Airport may be allowed to expand.

The airport is operated by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority which has been championing the expansion. But, the city of Burbank, whose residents are worried about extra flights, extra noise and extra hazards, have been opposing the effort.

At present, the main terminal building is just 225 feet from the runway, a proximity that is considered dangerous for the commercial aviation industry as it operates today.

There are no enclosed jetways running from the terminal to the boarding hatch. Passengers walk out onto the tarmac and climb stairs to board - even in the wind and the rain.

The new terminal would be "U" shaped on land vacated by Lockheed Martin. The enclosed space would be 330,000 square feet compared to the 170,000 square feet in the existing facility, which forces some passengers to walk as far as 1,300 feet. The new design would limit the maximum walk to 700 feet.

The design calls for the number of gates to be raised from 14 to 16, 17, 18 or 19. The annual passenger count is expected to increase from 5 million to 5.4 million.

But the new terminal is far from fruition. Public hearings and approvals are still ahead and concerns remain that the new terminal will lead to a dramatic increase in flights and noise.

If the day ever comes when commercial flights are resumed at Palmdale Regional Airport, we should be aware of the long-running problems that have plagued Burbank Airport.

Carl Raggio, Glendale representative on the Airport Authority, put it this way:

"We've been waging a war. And we've forgotten all about the things that the people who go to the airport want."

When and if - Palmdale begins to develop commercial flights, we must remember what the people who will use it want and how the local residents and military installations will be affected.