Large Portion Of 5th Council Dist. May See/Hear Loud Aircraft Overhead Using Runway 25R Overnight Over Three Weeks, One Of Several Impacts That Could Result Permanently As Fateful Council Vote Approaches On Whether To Allow Airport Customs Facility/Int'l Flights That Could Arguably Put LB's Protective Airport Ordinance At Risk

LBReport.com

Advisory / Perspective

Large Portion Of 5th Council Dist. May See/Hear Loud Aircraft Overhead Using Runway 25R Overnight Over Three Weeks; It's One Of Several Impacts That Could Result Permanently As Fateful Council Vote Approaches On Whether To Allow Airport Customs Facility/Int'l Flights That Could Arguably Put LB's Protective Airport Ordinance At Risk

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(Aug. 28, 2016) -- Long Beach Airport's main Runway 30/12 will close from 10:00 p.m. to 6:45 a.m. for three weeks for what the Airport says is required FAA maintenance during the following periods:

Monday Aug. 29 through Friday Sept. 2
Monday Sept. 12 through Saturday Sept. 17
Monday Sept. 19 through Saturday Sept. 24

Although no commercial flights are regularly scheduled during these overnight periods, unscheduled things can and do happen...and if so, large aircraft and other private jets will use Runway 25R ("Two-Five Right"). Its approach, usually from the east or southeast, can send large aircraft over a number of 5th Council district residential neighborhoods including a lengthy stretch between Wardlow Rd. and Conant St. with take-offs over LB's 7th Council dist. Cal Hts neighborhood aligned roughly with 37th St.

[Scroll down for further.]

25R is LB Airport's busiest runway, handling a stream of multiple smaller plane operations daily, but large commercial jet operations are usually on LGB's longer diagonal runway 30/12, and only happen on 25R when 30/12 is blocked or undergoing maintenance. The former situation occurred on August 19, 2016 when a USAF training jet blew its tires on landing, closing 30/12 for several hours and sending large commercial jets onto 25R from late afternoon into the evening.

Although not directly related to the upcoming temporary use of 25R, the operations with large aircraft illustrate what 5th and 7th Council district areas -- and other areas beyond -- could experience permanently if Long Beach were to lose its current Airport ordinance. The City would lose its ability to protect itself, its homeowners and area schools from unlimited flights at all hours on all runways: 25R and 30/12.

Gone would be LB's current protective regulations on the number of flights, their noise, their use of specified runways and operating hours. In short: Long Beach could find itself unable to control unlimited numbers of take-offs and landings at all hours on all runways.

That long-term harmful outcome has been raised as a concern by some over a proposal to allow a federal customs facility that would effectively enable an entirely new category of international operators (cargo and/or passenger) to use LB Airport. Under LB's Airport ordinance, all of LGB's flight slots for large aircraft (over 75,000 pounds) are filled. That means that if any carrier were to seek additional flights beyond those under LB's Airport ordinance, and were to challenge the LB's Airport ordinance's regulatory provisions in court and prevail, Long Beach could lose the Airport ordinance and with it, current protections for the City and its residents.

Since there's no way to guarantee any court outcome, it's arguably smarter to minimize or avoid a harmful long term outcome and certainly not increase its risk. To LBREPORT.com's knowledge, the decision on whether to allow a federal customs facility at LB Airport is a discretionary matter resting with the Long Beach City Council. In other words, a Council majority can say "yes" or "no."

LB Mayors, City Councils and City Attorneys have repeatedly told the public that they consider LB's Airport ordinance an extremely valuable city asset that must be safeguarded and protected at all costs. However, after Mayor Robert Garcia and a new Council majority took office in mid-July 2014, six Councilmembers led by 5th dist. Councilwoman Stacy Mungo (over the dissents Councilmembers Al Austin (8th dist.), Roberto Uranga (7th dist.) and Daryl Supernaw (4th dist.)) voted to conduct what City Hall calls a comprehensive "feasibility study" on whether to allow a federal customs facility at the Airport.

The Council action came after LB Airport's largest commercial passenger tenant, JetBlue, publicly asked the City in Feb. 2015 to request a federal customs facility. Internal Airport documents, obtained by LBREPORT.com under the CA Public Records Act, show that LB Airport's now-exited management had worked quietly with JetBlue reps throughout much of 2013 to explore the feasibility of international flights and Airport management told LB's Mayor and Councilmembers of these activities by memos in August and Nov. 2013...but no Councilmembers disclosed this to the public entering the 2014 election cycle. LBREPORT.com coverage here).

JetBlue reps have repeatedly said that the company plans to operate under LB's Airport ordinance. However JetBlue doesn't control the actions of others...and the city couldn't limit a customs facility to JetBlue. That could invite other operators -- cargo and passenger -- to seek LB Airport flight slots which are all currently filled under LB's Airport ordinance.

That has prompted concerns that allowing a customs facility could precipitate (and arguably incentivize) a court challenge to LB's protective Airport ordinance, posing a major downside risk for the City and its residents. If such a challenge were successful, LB could lose its Airport ordinance and with it, all of the protections that LB has now.

That risk was publicly described in February 2015 testimony to LB's Airport Advisory Commission by Doug Haubert, an experienced municipal law attorney who served on the Commission and is now LB's City Prosecutor. To view LBREPORT.com's coverage, click here. [To LBREPORT.com's knowledge, no other LB news outlet has to date reported Mr. Haubert's 2015 Airport Advisory Commission testimony; in contrast, the PressTelegram recently assured its readers editorially (Aug. 18-19, 2016) that "the noise ordinance would not be allowed to fail" and blamed concerns on "anti-international residents" who have not been "mollified."]

LB's protective Airport ordinance is among the most progressive in the country, enabling increased flights as aircraft fleets become quieter, which the City recently demonstrated when it increased flight slots for large aircraft by nearly 22% (now 50 daily take-offs + landings instead of 41).

The "feasibility study" on a federal customs facility is being completed by Jacobs, a national firm that has provided advice on major municipal public works projects, including airport projects; it's expected to focus on matters such as airport capacity, financial impacts and security risks.

The arguably bigger threshold issue -- concern over inviting increased risk exposure with possible permanent loss of LB's Airport ordinance that protects LB residents and the City -- has been left to a forthcoming report/opinion from LB's City Attorney's office...and that office doesn't plan to release its report/opinion until it has seen the Jacobs produced "feasibility study."

City management has indicated that the "feasibility study" will likely be completed in late August or early September, and will first be sent to two non-elected, Mayor-chosen/Council-approved bodies: LB's Airport Advisory Commission and Economic Development Commission. After public discussion and potential advisory votes by those bodies, the entire issue -- "feasibility report" plus the City Attorney's report on risks to LB's Airport ordinance -- will come to the City Council for a fateful voted action in likely in October or early November.

Developing. Further to follow on LBREPORT.com.

[Aviation nomenclature unrelated to the substance of this story: Runways are named for their magnetic alignment in the aircraft's direction of travel: "30/12" is shorthand for 300 degrees on take-offs/approaches with normal winds, 120 degrees when it's used in the opposite direction when the wind reverses. 25R and 25L are shorthand for 250 degrees most days and 7L and 7R for 70 degrees used in the opposite direction when the wind reverses. Another factoid: 25R/7L and 26L/7R will soon be redesignated as 26R/8L and 26L/8R due to measured magnetic changes, again not affecting the substance of this story.]

LBREPORT.com added text (geographic locations, additional explanations) and clarified at 4:13 p.m. to our initial text uploaded at 11:10 a.m.