Van Nuys Airport 20-Year Master Plan Is Discussed

Van Nuys Airport tenants and neighbors came together for the first time Tuesday to voice concerns and make suggestions on a master plan that will guide development at the airport for the next 20 years.

The airport, covering 725 acres in the northwest corner of Van Nuys, has never had a master plan, relying instead on a patchwork of zoning regulations contained in five separate community development plans.

The meeting, attended by about 50 airport neighbors, tenants and adjacent business owners, generated many ideas about what to include in the master plan and how it should shape the airport’s future.

Organizers of the meeting separated those who attended into small groups of six to 10 members to discuss their concerns and appoint one member to represent a consensus of their feelings.

Several residents said they hoped the master plan will limit the number and type of aircraft allowed at the airfield.

“What it came down to, for us, in a word, is noise,” said Leta Bartholomew, a Van Nuys homeowner who suggested that the airport restrict all helicopter flights, except for emergencies.

Ronny Schiff, a Van Nuys resident and former pilot, said her group supported giving small plane operators a discount on lease rates to encourage more smaller, less noise planes to use the airport.

“We really want to encourage the small pilot to land here and do business here,” she said.

Airport tenants--few of whom attended--have said in the past that they expect the master plan will make it easier for them to plan future developments. They have complained that airport policies for development have been inconsistent, arbitrary and highly politicized.

The meeting Tuesday was the first of three that the Los Angeles Department of Airports will hold to collect public concerns about the drafting of the document. No dates have been set for the other two meetings.

A master plan will take two to three years to complete and will require a full environmental study that must be approved by the Board of Airport Commissioners, the Los Angeles Department of Planning and the City Council.

A building moratorium has been in place at the airport for nearly a year while the Department of Airports began preparations for the Master Plan.

To ensure public participation in the document, the Department of Airports has hired Consensus Planning Group, a North Hollywood-based community relations firm, to get feedback from anyone interested. Between March and September, 1992, the group conducted interviews with 65 residents, airport tenants, members of special airport committees, property owners in the area and public officials who represent the neighborhoods around the airport.

The following are some of the concerns raised in the interviews about the master plan:

* Airport tenants fear that the use of airport land for non-aviation purposes will increase competition for existing aviation land and thus inflate lease rates.

* Some residents fear that too much land designated for aviation use will mean more aircraft noise. They want controls on the type of aircraft using the airport, the hours of operation and penalties for violating noise rules.

* Participants have many ideas about the future of the 62-acre former Air National Guard site, including low-income housing, a park or museum, a police station, a library, a business park, an administration building and a jet port.

* Some tenants say the proposed master plan should set provisions regarding the length of lease terms, rates, type of development allowed and renewal policies.

* Many participants said the master plan should be reviewed every three to five years.