Airport Curfew Plan Is Under FAA Review

BURBANK —  The Federal Aviation Administration expects to make a decision shortly on whether Burbank Airport officials can expand their noise curfew.

Burbank city officials want a mandatory 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew on passenger jets to replace the current voluntary restriction. But officials with the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority say they cannot take such action without a costly FAA study.

But in a March 4 letter, FAA Administrator Jane Garvey told Rep. James Rogan (R-Glendale) the agency is now examining the issue.

In a statement, Rogan called Garvey’s decision “an about-face,” saying the agency had previously refused to take up the issue.

‘We’re pleased to see administrator Garvey is going to take an active role in working with local, state and federal officials,” said Rogan aide Jeff Solsby. “We need to find an equitable solution to this issue that protects the safety of the traveling public as well as the concerns of area residents.”

Burbank officials contend the federal Airport Noise and Capacity Act of 1990 explicitly exempts Burbank Airport from having to conduct the so-called Part 161 study.

“For the last several months, we’ve been looking at all of the possible solutions that have been presented to us, including the city of Burbank’s legal argument in favor of grandfathering under the 1990 law,” said Marie Therese Dominguez, deputy chief of staff and counsel to Garvey.

“We expect to reach some kind of conclusion about the grandfathering arguments raised by the city in the next few weeks.”

Peter Kirsch, Burbank’s special counsel on the airport, said officials would be wise not to read too much into Garvey’s letter.

“I think what Garvey is saying is that they are examining the legal issue in great detail,” Kirsch said. “It is not clear from Garvey’s letter whether she intends to issue a formal opinion or otherwise to jump into the fray.”

Kirsch added that Garvey’s comments indicated “she wanted to alert the congressman to the legal issues without giving any indication on how she was leaning. She also wanted to communicate that her decision would be a legal more than a political decision.”

For years, the Airport Authority has been locked in a political and court fight with the Burbank government and residents protesting aircraft noise.

Since the early 1990s, the debate has spilled over into the authority’s attempts to build a 19-gate terminal, which anti-noise forces have fought, contending it will increase noise.

The Airport Authority counters it is trying to comply with the FAA’s urgings to replace the current terminal because it does not meet modern safety standards.