Austin-Uranga Airport Item Carries 4-3, Halts Secretive Staff Work Until 60 Days After New 4th dist. Council Rep Takes Office, Then Enables Council Direction On What Council Wants To Know Re Proposed Customs Facility & Int'l Flights By JetBlue...And Potentially Others
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(Mar. 4, 2015,) -- As seen LIVE on LBREPORT.com, after a nearly two hour Council discussion, public testimony, amendments and substitute motions, Council votes 4-3 (slightly amended by Price) on March 3 to direct City Mgr to withhold further staff work [mainly secretive and with no Council voted approval to date] on proposed Customs facility at LB Airport until 60 days after new 4th dist. Councilmember is seated.
The motion then directs the City Manager to return to the Council to receive direction in publicly cast Council vote(s) on how to proceed re a proposed a Customs facility that would enable international lights by JetBlue...and potentially others. 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 sought to have staff continue work it had been doing for roughly two years basically in secret (until early 2014 on early media reports) without any publicly voted Council approval or direction [LBREPORT;com coverage here] Mungo said she wanted to use what she called resulting staff "data" as a basis for conducting public outreach meetings. Airport commissioned studies to date have focused nearly entirely on fiscal costs/benefits to the Airport, not impacts on homeowners, pollution, property values, property tax revenue stemming from potential risks to the City's protective Airport Ordinance which is the only measure protecting the City from unlimited flights at all hours on all runways (LBREPORT.com coverage here.)
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Councilmembers Austin and Uranga announced that they had a letter from former 4th dist. Councilman [elected Assemblyman Nov. 2014] Patrick O'Donnell supporting their proposal for a pause until after a new 4th dist. Councilmember takes office...and Austin and Uranga pressed their original intent, which they described as having a Council-driven process (in contrast to a Mungo-Lowenthal substitute which sought to continue a staff driven process.
Councilwoman Mungo, who has represented the 5th dist. since mid-July 2014, contended she also effectively represents the 4th district (currently without a 4th dist elected Council rep) on grounds she (like the rest of the Council) votes on citywide items. She also mentioned regularly gets yogurt at 4th district store. Facing an audience filled with residents carrying signs supporting the Austin-Uranga item, Councilwoman Mungo said bringing the item forward was "pandering to this crowd." Citing a three year management estimated time period to produce the Customs facility, Mungo stated, "A delay of an additional three weeks [sic: three months] is pandering to this crowd because it's insignificant in a three year plan, which will take an exuberant amount of time." City Manager Pat West said he expects additional studies to take roughly five months to complete.
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Councilman Austin noted that staff [Airport staff] had performed considerable work on the proposed Customs facility for roughly two years without publicly voted Council direction. In Council colloquy, City Manager Pat West said it was he who directed then Airport Director Mario Rodriguez to halt work on the Customs facility in or about October 2013 since there were multiple other matters on the Council's plate, including the Civic Center transaction. City Manager West indicated that he expects studies from consultants on a Customs facility (e.g. operational, financial, locational aspects) would take roughly five months to complete.
To date, the Council has conducted one study session (Feb. 17) on its protective Airport ordinance...but to date has held no discussions on whether or not to change its Airport to an international facility to suit the desire of tenant JetBlue (and would also effectively invite international flights by others.)
In public testimony, multiple speakers (included retired 8th dist. Councilwoman Rae Gabelich, John Deats (Los Cerritos), Rick Ivey (Los Cerritos), Joe Sopo (Los Altos), opposed international flights. JetBlue's Rob Mitchell opposed slowing "the fact-finding studies and lengthy conversations that need to start now to carry out the project in a timely manner." Aeroplex Aviation's Curt Castagna supported staff continuing its work as did former Airport Advisory Commission member Ron Salk (2000-08.)
The successful Austin-Uranga item says Council direction will now come in a publicly-cast Council vote(s) at least 60 days (reduced from 90 days per friendly amendment offered by Councilwoman Price) after a new 4th district Councilmember is seated in early May. On that Council vote(s), a Council majority will give management direction on what information the Council wants in considering whether or not to approve a Customs facility at the City's Airport that could enable international flights by JetBlue...and potentially others.
