Hahn Intensifies Lobbying as LAX Plan Deadline Nears
By HOWARD FINE
Staff Reporter
Faced with growing opposition to his $9 billion plan to remake Los Angeles International Airport and a series of approval showdowns in the next few months, L.A. Mayor James Hahn has stepped up his lobbying to salvage the project.
Hahn and his aides have met with airline industry officials and the L.A. Area Chamber of Commerce to convince them of the airport’s plan viability. The main airline industry trade group opposes the overhaul, while the chamber is expected to vote on the plan in May.
Meanwhile, the Hahn administration and airport officials have laid out an ambitious timetable for the approval process, starting with airport and planning commission hearings in the spring and culminating with City Council consideration in September. In the run-up to those hearings, a revised environmental impact report is due out on April 28.
“We’re now entering crunch time for the master plan,” said David Kissinger, airport aide to L.A. City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski.
The next few weeks are especially critical since one of Hahn’s original supporters, El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon, switched sides earlier this month, saying he doesn’t believe the plan will cap passenger growth.
In addition, four city councilmembers have expressed opposition to all or part of the plan: Council President Alex Padilla and Councilmembers Cindy Miscikowski, Bernard Parks and Martin Ludlow. Hahn needs eight council votes; so far, no councilmember has come out in support of the entire plan.
Hahn’s proposal, known as Alternative D, calls for the demolition of parking garages in the central terminal area and the relocation of airport parking to Manchester Square, 1.5 miles to the east. A people-mover would connect the Manchester Square parking area to the terminals.
The plan also calls for the demolition of the three terminals on the north side of the Century Boulevard loop and replacing them with one mega-terminal, widening of the two airport runways to accommodate the next-generation Airbus-380 superjumbo jets, and a consolidated car rental facility.
Airline, business lobbying
During his visit to Washington last week, Hahn initiated a meeting with Jim May, president of the Air Transport Association, the main airline industry trade group. The mayor brought with him L.A. Police Chief William Bratton and the LAPD’s anti-terrorism unit leader, John Miller, to emphasize the security benefits of the plan.
Although Hahn spokeswoman Shannon Murphy called the meeting “productive,” an ATA spokesman said the group’s opposition to Hahn’s plan was unchanged.
“Our position is the same as it was before: We do not support the master plan as it now stands and we do not support the Manchester Square proposal as it now stands,” said spokesman Doug Wills.
The largest air carrier at LAX, United Airlines, along with nine other airlines that have an operating alliance with United including Air Canada and U.S. Air are in support of the plan.
As for the upcoming vote of the 90-member chamber board, Hahn’s airport aides have tried to address concerns about the plan from a working group. Chamber Chairman George Kieffer, who has close ties to the mayor, characterized the Hahn administration as being “very patient with us as we have called them in to answer the many questions we have about the plan.”
That’s contrary to what was described as a “heavy-handed” lobbying effort from Deputy Mayor Troy Edwards and L.A. Airport Commission President Ted Stein in the days before the LAEDC vote last fall.
L.A.’s business leadership has split on the Hahn plan. The Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. and the Valley Industry and Commerce Association oppose it, and the Los Angeles Business Council and the Westchester/LAX/Marina del Rey Chamber of Commerce support it. The L.A. chamber and the Central City Association are the only major business groups in the county yet to weigh in; as such, the chamber board vote will be closely watched.
EIR revision due
The revised EIR, due out on April 28, would provide a chance to scale back or alter some of the more controversial elements of the plan, since it will be the last major document put forward before the approval process begins. Those elements include the off-site parking center at Manchester Square and the demolition of the three airport terminals on the north side of the central terminal loop.
Hahn officials last week said they would have no comment on the process until the final document is released.
Less than four weeks after the revised EIR is released, the first major public hearings on Hahn’s plan are set to take place. The Airport Commission and the Planning Commission will hold two joint hearings on May 24 and June 14.
After the second hearing, each commission will vote. Since Hahn allies Ted Stein and Joe Klein head up both commissions and all the remaining commissioners are Hahn appointees, the plan is expected to win nearly unanimous approval from both bodies, with perhaps some minor adjustments.
That doesn’t mean the hearings will be smooth sailing. Intense opposition is expected from many residents living near the airport, as well as most of the airlines that use LAX. That could set the table for the first real test of Hahn’s plan as it goes before the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management committee and possibly several other committees, starting in August.
Under Hahn’s aggressive timetable, which will be released next week, the plan is expected to come before the full City Council on Sept. 14.
“Assuming several council committees are in on this, it could stretch out for weeks or even months before it gets to the full council,” a City Council aide said.
Another wild card is what happens with the multiple ongoing investigations into “pay-to-play” practices at the airport department.
Any delays could prove a major setback for Hahn. With a mayoral election next year, he is pushing for the LAX master plan to win approval before the campaign heats up next winter so he can tout it as a major accomplishment. If it is delayed, opponents will likely turn it into a campaign issue.
