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City Mgt. Responds To FAA Draft Study Listing LB Airport Among Those Nat'lly Needing Increased Capacity By 2013
(March 29, 2004, posted at 8:05 p.m.) -- LB city management has responded to a news story -- reported first in LB by LBReport.com -- indicating that a draft report from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lists LB airport as among 16 airports nationally that will need additional capacity by 2013 and 2020.
In a March 29 memo to City Manager Jerry Miller for LB Mayor Beverly O'Neill and Councilmembers, LB Public Works Director Christine Andersen says the preliminary FAA report "portrays Long Beach fairly accurately until around 2012, after which it exceeds our 3.8 million annual passenger forecast by what looks like a 3-4% continuing annual growth rate which would not be accommodated at LGB...[T]he FAA has no legal ability to require the airport to exceed Long Beach’s locally permitted amount, and SCAG has recognized the local restrictions and use forecasts in their long-range aviation system plan."
Ms. Anderson writes:
In summary, although this newly released report from FAA is generating a lot of interest locally, it shows the same "demand exceeds supply" picture regarding airport capacity that their reports have shown each year for literally decades. The City of Long Beach is helping to meet air transportation needs through its Noise Compatibility Ordinance, however, this ordinance, because of its grandfathered status within the 1990 Airport Noise and Capacity Act and the acknowledgement of such status recently by the FAA, permits the City to control its own destiny and not accommodate activity levels in excess of that which is provided by local ordinance and supported by its 2010 Strategic Plan. LBReport.com posts the full text of the city management memo below.
As reported in January 2004 by LBReport.com [to our knowledge, the only LB media outlet to do so], SCAG's Executive Director, Mark Pisano, publicly told the LB City Council on January 13 that if SCAG's regional airport plan to increase air traffic at Palmdale and Ontario airports (to make up for the scuttled El Toro airport) doesn't pan out, pressure will mount on other developed airports, including Long Beach, to take additional flights.
Mr. Pisano said, "[T]his is critical to you [in Long Beach] -- if we don't find solutions to resolve the pressure, there will be increased pressure -- notwithstanding legal protections around Long Beach today, there will be continued political pressure to use already developed airports."
No LB Councilmember spoke up in response...a fact that so annoyed LBHUSH2 founder and 8th district Council candidate Rae Gabelich that she attended a subsequent Council meeting to provide a polite but firm public response herself.
I believe one does not serve the region in the 21st century by making its livable parts less livable. Reached for subsequent comment by LBReport.com, SCAG Executive Director Pisano said the region (i.e. SCAG) "strongly supports current [LB Airport] limitations and the city's legal limitations on use of its airport...and that's why the policy [3.8 million annual passengers noted by Ms. Gabelich] is part of the Regional Transportation Plan." He added that his Council comments noted that "we are attempting to attain capacity [with SCAG's regional airport plan]. But if we're not able to meet the demands of aviation, it will put pressure on the political system, the legislative system and the judicial system to meet the demands. We're working very hard as a region to make sure that doesn't happen" [i.e., SCAG is working to have its regional airport plan succeed.]
As previously reported by LBReport.com, LB Councilmembers have indicated that in travels to Washington, D.C. they've met with FAA officials and members of Congress and stressed the history and importance of LB's noise budgeted Airport ordinance, considered among the country's most progressive by providing empirical incentives for quieter operations.
[begin March 29, 2004 LB city management memo text]
Date: March 29, 2004
Subject: Airport Capacity Study and Long Beach Airport
On March 25, preliminary results of the Department of Transportation’s airport capacity studies, compiled by the FAA and their consultant MITRE, were released at the FAA’s Commercial Aviation Forecast Conference in Washington DC. The official release of the report is planned for April.
Long Beach Airport (LGB) is listed in the preliminary study as one of the airports that would need to increase its capacity to accommodate the demand to fly on scheduled airlines over the next several years. Specifically, the report states that Long Beach is among the airports that will need greater capacity by 2013 to accommodate demand, and is again listed among the airports needing additional capacity to meet demand by the year 2020.
The recently released FAA forecast portrays Long Beach fairly accurately until around 2012, after which it exceeds our 3.8 million annual passenger forecast by what looks like a 3-4% continuing annual growth rate which would not be accommodated at LGB. Once again, the FAA has no legal ability to require the airport to exceed Long Beach’s locally permitted amount, and SCAG has recognized the local restrictions and use forecasts in their long-range aviation system plan.
SCAG, at the regional level, is the designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO), whose responsibility it is to show how the region can best address the forecasted needs. SCAG projects LGB's forecast of 3.8 million annual passengers (based on our 41 airline and 25 commuter flight ordinance) as being operative throughout their 20 year planning horizon.
A feature of this year's study, which is somewhat unique, is that the impacts of 9/11 are put into a "recovery perspective" and long-term growth in aviation demand is forecast to be in keeping with overall economic growth - fairly strong and constant.
The fact that the study shows that LGB would need to expand by 2013 is a product of the FAA's and MITRE's "top-down" forecast approach, which is to forecast demand based on macro factors, and allocate that demand to existing airline airports, without regard to locally unique circumstances such as federally approved or grandfathered use restrictions, including those in place at Long Beach.
The purpose of FAA's annual forecast efforts is to provide its organization and Congress with a look ahead in terms of the resources that will be needed in the long run to operate the nation’s air transportation system.
In summary, although this newly released report from FAA is generating a lot of interest locally, it shows the same "demand exceeds supply" picture regarding airport capacity that their reports have shown each year for literally decades. The City of Long Beach is helping to meet air transportation needs through its Noise Compatibility Ordinance, however, this ordinance, because of its grandfathered status within the 1990 Airport Noise and Capacity Act and the acknowledgement of such status recently by the FAA, permits the City to control its own destiny and not accommodate activity levels in excess of that which is provided by local ordinance and supported by its 2010 Strategic Plan.
I will provide more information as it becomes available.
cc: Robert Shannon, City Attorney
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