Discussions about overhauling or replacing the main terminal at Burbank’s Bob Hope Airport have been on ice for seven years. But it looks like city and airport leaders are once again ready to talk about the long-delayed project.
That’s because a poll released last week reported that most residents near the airport could be convinced that a new terminal building is needed.
Airport leaders have wanted to replace or expand the terminal building, parts of which were built in the 1930s and 1970s, for about 20 years. But the plans have been delayed by concerns over airplane noise, litigation over city control of airport land dealings, and some leaders’ desire for a curfew or a cap on the number of flights.
City and airport leaders agreed to a cease-fire of sorts in 2005, calling for talks about a new or improved terminal to be delayed until after June of this year. An extension, approved last year, of that agreement allows discussion to resume but prevents a terminal from being built until 2015.
If the issue isn’t resolved by then, the city could choose to sell off land at the airport’s northeast corner where a terminal would likely be built.
The poll was commissioned by the city and airport authority as a first step toward renewing talks. The findings indicate residents of Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena – the three cities that jointly own the airport – could be persuaded to support the construction of a new terminal.
Culver City polling firm Goodwin Simon Strategic Research found 48 percent of about 1,100 respondents favored building a new terminal. That number jumped to 67 percent after respondents were told the terminal doesn’t meet current earthquake codes and that parts of the facility are 80 years old.
The support is an important signal because voters in the city of Burbank must approve any major terminal project.
Money for the project is dependent on the number of flights and passengers moving through the facility. Bob Hope’s passenger traffic has dipped 27 percent from its 2007 peak and could fall more this year. American Airlines, which represented about 7 percent of the airport’s flights last year, stopped service to Bob Hope last month.
Airport revenue has dropped along with traffic. As a result, airport leaders are looking for major cost savings on a planned transportation center and rental car facility, so paying for construction of a new terminal would be challenging if traffic doesn’t pick up.
Yea or Nay
Legacy Partners’ plan to sell the biggest office building in downtown Long Beach to the Port of Long Beach looked dead last year, but a ruling from a state political body could give the deal new life.
After months of negotiation between Legacy in Foster City and port leaders last year, the Long Beach Harbor Commission deadlocked 2-2 on purchasing the 575,000-square-foot building for $144 million. Susan Wise, Harbor Commission president, recused herself because of an apparent financial conflict of interest: Her husband’s law firm is a tenant in the building and Wise, herself an attorney, subleases space there.
But the California Fair Political Practices Commission said last week that Wise can vote. It ruled that she does not have a conflict because a clause in the lease of her husband’s firm guarantees the same lease terms even if the building changes hands.
Legacy Partners argued last year that Wise should be able to vote. Jerry Neuman, an attorney at Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton LLP’s downtown L.A. office who is representing Legacy Partners, said the company still seeks to sell the building to the port, which for years has wanted to vacate its undersized and seismically unsound headquarters building.
“We never took our offer off the table,” said Neuman, who added that the building is still the best option for the port.
However, the deal might not be renewed. Harbor commissioners voted last month to start a fresh headquarters search, forming committees to study the port’s needs and bringing in a real estate consultant. It’s not clear if commissioners will come back around to the World Trade Center.
Wise would not say how she might vote if the deal were back on the table.
“I wasn’t involved in the discussions previously,” she said. “I will just get involved in this new process now and see where it goes.”
More Turkey
A year after starting service at Los Angeles International Airport, Turkish Airlines next week will begin offering daily flights between Los Angeles and Istanbul, up from five per week.
The daily flights will start March 26. Fatma Yuceler, the airline’s L.A. general manager, said the company is adding flights to meet steady and growing demand.
“Our Los Angeles flights are performing very well,” Yuceler said. “These (additional) flights will keep up with the increased demand for travel to Istanbul, which is rapidly becoming a global hub for travelers.”
From last March through December, about 100,000 passengers flew in or out of Los Angeles on Turkish Airlines. The airline offers the only nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Istanbul.
Staff reporter James Rufus Koren can be reached at [email protected] or at (323) 549-5225, ext. 225.
