The neighbors near the Los Angeles International Airport mostly despise a proposal to move the northernmost runway further north. That would allow the airport to better accommodate a new generation of larger aircraft – but it means those much bulkier planes would fly even closer to the nearby businesses and residents.
The LAX Coastal Area Chamber of Commerce, which represents 550 businesses in Westchester and other communities all around the airport, could have done the popular thing in Westchester and reflexively opposed the proposal. Or it could have done the safe thing and stayed mum. Instead, it did something most chambers wouldn’t do. It decided to hear out both sides and make a decision.
It held a dozen meetings last fall, plus some town hall-type meetings, to hear from stakeholders and consider all options. In the end, the chamber’s board Dec. 20 voted 16 to 2, with one abstention, to support the proposal to move the runway 260 feet further north.
Do the board members want mammoth planes flying even closer to them? No, not at all. (In fact, the chamber office is among those most affected since it is across the street from the airport, within sniffing distance of the In-N-Out Burger restaurant.) But, they concluded, moving the runway would be best for all of Los Angeles, even if it hurt them a little.
Their rationale included the reality that the bigger airplanes fly mainly to hub airports. And now, when the big new Airbus A380 lands or takes off from LAX (which happens 12 times a day already), the entire north side of the airport must otherwise shut down. If that situation lingers, airlines might well send more of their big planes to San Francisco, Denver or elsewhere. And that would hurt L.A.’s economy, especially hospitality businesses. LAX’s status as a Pacific Rim hub would slip.
Besides, the idea of moving the runway 260 feet was not the most disruptive proposal. One recommendation was to move the runway 350 feet, which would have meant LAX would have to take a strip of land away from the neighborhood through condemnation. The 260-foot move would keep the new runway inside the airport’s current fence. As one chamber board member told me, 260 feet is only 87 yards – less than the distance an average golfer can hit a ball with a sand wedge.
Again, the chamber didn’t need to vote on the matter; its recommendation was just that, a recommendation. But its stand was braver than the four main candidates for mayor, who have either opposed the runway change or declined to state their opinion, apparently fearful of upsetting LAX-area voters.
But alas, the chamber’s principled stand isn’t going unpunished. Drollinger Properties announced a couple of weeks ago that it has severed ties with the LAX chamber. It was important both for symbolic reasons (the company’s founder, Howard Drollinger, helped found the chamber in 1953) and for financial reasons (Drollinger was the chamber’s only gold-level sponsor, although it has three platinum-level sponsors).
What’s more, Drollinger’s decision could give cover to other members looking to leave. The chamber’s president and chief executive, Christina Davis, said she has talked to a few other members who were upset with the chamber’s vote, but as of last week, none had resigned.
The quest to make LAX better able to accommodate the big new aircraft isn’t over. The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners earlier this month endorsed the 260-foot plan, but the proposal still faces other votes, including that of the City Council.
Regardless of the eventual fate of the runway, it’s reassuring to know that along the way to the ultimate decision, one business group stood up for the greater good of the entire region. Not just for its own narrow interests.
Charles Crumpley is editor of the Business Journal. He can be reached at [email protected].
