Attn. East Long Beach: Neighborhoods First + LBHUSH2 To Hold Special Public Meeting Thurs. June 4 6:30-8:30 p.m. @ Minnie Gant School (90815) -- To Discuss Why ELB Arguably Has The Most To Lose, With Potential Risks/Unintended Consequences, If Council Were To Allow A LB Airport Fed'l Customs Facility (Int'l Flights) That Couldn't Be Limited To One User
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(June 2, 2015, 8:00 p.m.) -- On Thursday night June 4, 2015, Neighborhoods First and LBHUSH2 have scheduled a special public meeting for ELB to discuss potential risks/unintended consequences -- and hear why ELB arguably has the most to lose if the Council were to allow a LB Airport federal customs facility (international flights) that couldn't be limited to one user.
This special meeting will take place on Thurs. June 4, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at Minnie Gant School, 1854 Britton Dr.
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The Ordinance protects Long Beach from unlimited flights at all hours on all runways. If the City lost the Ordinance, the City would become powerless to prevent large commercial jets and smaller charter aircraft from using east-west runway 25R (approach path currently limited to smaller aircraft) in unlimited numbers at all hours of the day and night. Likewise, main runway 30/12 could be used at all hours of the days and night at all hours by unlimited numbers of flights.
That's why ELB -- and the 5th Council district -- arguably have the most to lose if the City were to lose its valuable neighborhood-protective Airport ordinance.
As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, an airport tenant, JetBlue Airways, has asked the City (ultimately meaning approval by the City Council) to allow such federal inspection (customs) facility at LB Airport to enable international flights...that couldn't be limited to one user. JetBlue has indicated that if allowed international flights, it plans to operate within the terms of the LB Airport Ordinance...and allowing international flights by itself wouldn't necessarily require changing or removing the Ordinance...but Neighborhoods First and LBHUSH, citing expert testimony below, argue that the international flihts could create risks to the Ordinance from unintended consequences.
In January 2015, the Council held a study session in which City Attorney Parkin, Assistant City Attorney Mais and City Prosecutor Haubert acknowledged that LB's Airport Ordinance is what currently protects Long Beach from unlimited flights at all hours on all runways. In February 2015, City Prosecutor Haubert. a former Airport Advisory Commission member, testified at a meeting of LB's Airport Advisory Commission at which he described potential scenarios, risks and unintended consequences he believes could result in legal challenges -- and the potential loss of LB's Airport Ordinance -- if the City were to allow international flights. (For LBREPORT.com coverage, click here.)
Among those speaking at Thursday night's meeting will be Neighborhoods First leader Joe Sopo and retired 8th district Councilmember/LBHUSH2 co-founder Rae Gabelich. Mr. Sopo, Ms. Gabelich and other grassroots residents successfully prevailed in ensuring that LB Airport's permanent terminal facilities were "right-sized" -- protecting the Airport's boutique style convenience that travelers enjoy -- instead of constructing a massively enlarged ("super-sized") terminal that some in town had advocated.
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As previously reported by LBREPORT.com, internal Airport documents (obtained by LBREPORT.com under the CA Public Recods Act) show that basically throughout 2013, LB's now-exited Airport manager and current Airport staff worked (without Council voted approval) to lay the groundwork for Council action on international flights. (For LBREPORT.com coverage, click here.) Airport management informed the now-former Mayor and Council in two summary memos in the latter half of 2013 of what it was doing, but Councilmembers and the Mayor didn't mention the developments publicly entering the 2014 election cycle.
The internal Airport documents indicate that both JetBlue and Airport management assumed that international flights would operate within the terms of LB's Airport ordinance. However the documents don't indicate any discussion of potential risks or unintended consequences to the City's ordinance. Those risks, which some in the city adamantly deny, include whether allowing a federal customs facility would give multiple international operators -- cargo and passenger planes -- an opportunity to seek LB flight slots (that they can't use without a customs facility) and are currently filled and unavailable under LB's Airport Ordinance.
Although JetBlue has been candid about itsd desire for international flights, LB Airport management initially sought to portray the Airport's actions as merely preliminary. However the internal Airport documents reported by LBREPORT.com show that the work conducted by now-exited Airport management was fairly extensive...and not publicly transparent.
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Following the Council's January 2015 study session and Mr. Haubert's Feb. 2015 Airport Advisory Commission testimony, Councilmembers Al Austin and Roberto Uranga agendized an item for the March 3, 2015 City Council meeting, enacted on a 4-3 Council vote, that directed Airport and city management to halt/pause any work on international flights until 60 days after a new 4th district Councilmember takes office. (The vote was: Yes: Price, Uranga, Austin, Richardson; No: Lowenthal, Mungo, Andrews [4th dist vacant, Gonzalez out on maternity leave.]
Councilwoman Mungo and Vice Mayor Lowenthal tried to block the item with a substitute motion that would have had let staff continue to do what it had been doing (basically in secret from the public); near the outset of Council discussion, Councilwoman Mungo said bringing the item forward was "pandering to this crowd."
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On April 14, 2015 Daryl Supernaw won the 4th district Council election and was seated in mid-May. At some point after early July 2015, the Council is expected to discuss and instruct city management on what issue(s) it seeks information and wishes to explore and discuss in detail -- with public input -- before voting on whether to allow international flights. City management has indicated that preparing that information will likely take several months, meaning a decisional vote on whether or not to allow a federal customs facility would come in early 2016.
The bottom line: in the coming weeks and months, a Council majority will make decisions that could have profound, long term impacts and consequences for East Long Beach property owners and for the entire City.
Neighborhoods First/LBHUSH2 Special Community Meeting
June 4, 2015, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Minnie Gant School, 1854 Britton Dr., Long Beach 90815
Potential Unintended Consequences Re Allowing Fed'l Customs Facility Enabling Int'l Flights (Which Couldn't Be Limited To Single Operator) and LB's Airport Ordinance (Which Protects City From Unlimited Flights At All Hours On All Runways)
