CITY OF BURBANK
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
Dios Marrero
Executive Director
Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport
Authority
2627 Hollywood Way
Burbank, California 91505
Re:
Third Superseding Application for Approval of Land Acquisition
The City of Burbank (“City”) has received the Third Superseding
Application for Approval of Land Acquisition (“Application”) submitted
by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority (“Authority”).
The City is Committed to working with you to address your requests
in as expeditious a fashion as possible, consistent with the need for
careful review of this important issue and the need to ensure meaningful
public involvement. However,
because the Application does not currently contain adequate information
necessary to access the Application under Public Utilities Code Section
21661.6 (“Section 21661.6”), it is incomplete and inadequate for
purposes of initiating formal review under Section 21661.6.
This letter
identifies the specific areas of missing information or needed
clarification to allow the Authority to make the Application complete.
In addition, this letter identifies a general process for
addressing the separate issues associated with Section 21661.6 approval
and the removal of deed restrictions and other limitations covering the
B-6 Property. For further
information on the process that the City will use in reviewing the
Application, we draw your attention to the procedures adopted by the City
Council in 1996 (“1996 Procedures”), a copy of which is attached.
Specific
Areas in which the Application Requires More Information or Clarification
The
following are the areas in which we need more information or clarification
in order to deem the Application complete and ready for processing:
1.
As
a public agency, the Authority has acted as the lead agency for the
proposed terminal project under the California Environmental Policy Act
(“CEQA”). However, the
Application contains no information regarding any Authority findings or
position concerning the adequacy of the 1993 Environmental Impact Report
(“EIR”) and the 1995 Environmental Impact Statement (“EIS”),
despite changes to the proposed project, mitigation measures or
alternatives that may be now available to reduce significant impacts, and
changed circumstances at and near the Airport.
Provide a statement indicating how the Authority has compiled or
proposes to comply with CEQA requirements for any actions relating to the
project that is the subject of the Application.
Provide all documents, information or findings necessary to support
the Authority’s statement regarding CEQA compliance.
Include an explanation of what type of additional environmental
review you propose in order to comply with CEQA as a whole and with CEQA
Guidelines Section 15162 specifically.
If you believe that an addendum to your existing EIR would satisfy
CEQA requirements, please provide a statement explaining your conclusions
and including all documentation needed to prepare the addendum.
If you believe that a subsequent or supplemental EIR is required,
please indicate whether you intend to prepare that document or whether you
wish for the City of Burbank to take principal responsibility for
preparation of that document. If
the Authority believes another approach is appropriate, provide a
statement identifying the approach and supply all findings, analysis, and
information the Authority believes supports such an approach.
2.
Provide
a statement indicating whether the Authority has a position regarding the
means by which the City should comply with the policy as set forth in City
Council Resolution 25,474 (attached), requiring voter approval of City
Council actions regarding airport development.
3.
Provide
a statement confirming that it is the Authority’s intent in the
Application that any City approval under Section 21661.6 would provide
that the Authority’s right to acquire the Trust Property and to use such
property for Airport purposes would not be perfected until the Authority
has received approval to implement, and has actually implemented, a curfew
covering all aircraft arrivals and departures at the Airport from 10 p.m.
to 7 a.m. and all opportunities for appeal of or challenge to such
approval have passed. If this
is not the Authority’s intent, please clarify the applicable statements
in the Application.
4.
Provide
a statement indicating the date on which the Authority would initiate the
separate application for noise or operational controls referenced in
Paragraph F.2.
5.
For
the payments identified in Paragraphs G.2 and G.3, please provide a
statement setting forth the Authority’s position on (1) whether the
Authority would be authorized under federal law to provide these payments
and (2) the amounts (or the manner of calculating the amounts) that would
be authorized under federal law. Include
citation to any FAA opinions or other authoritative interpretations that
support the Authority’s position. If
no such interpretation exists to support the Authority’s position,
please provide a statement indicating whether the Authority plans
to seek such an authoritative interpretation and how the Authority
proposes that the City quantify the benefit of this element of the
Application. For the purposes
of Paragraph G.2, please explain how the Authority proposes to calculate
the increases in operations that would not occur but for approval of the
Application.
6.
With
regard to the payments in lieu of taxes under Paragraph H, please provide
a statement setting forth the Authority’s position on (1) whether the
Authority would be authorized under federal law to make the proposed
payments in lieu of taxes and (2) the amounts that would be authorized
under federal law and/or the manner for calculating such payments.
Include citation to any FAA opinions or other authoritative
interpretations that support the Authority’s position.
If no interpretation exists to support the Authority’s position,
provide a statement indicating whether the Authority plans to seek such an
authoritative interpretation and how the Authority proposes that the City
quantify the benefit of this element of the Application.
7.
Provide
a statement indicating whether Paragraph L is intended to demonstrate
compliance with CEQA. If it
is intended to serve another purpose, such as supporting the necessary
findings under the 1996 Procedures, provide a statement identifying that
purpose or purposes. Provide
whatever factual information is available to the Authority supporting the
provisions of Paragraph L. Provide
a statement indicating what actions the Authority proposes to take to
maintain the ceiling on impacts set forth in this paragraph.
Provide a statement indicating the Authority’s position with
regard to the City’s remedies under Section 21661.6 in the event of the
Authority’s failure to comply with the commitments made in Paragraph L.
8.
With
regard to Paragraph I, please indicate whether the Authority has applied,
or intends to apply, for a Letter of Intent from the FAA for the proposed
funding. If not, please
indicate what actions the Authority will take to seek funding as set forth
in this provision.
9.
Provide
a statement indicating the uses the Authority anticipates for the Los
Angeles portions of the B-6 Property and provide information and analysis
showing how these uses would affect traffic or other environmental
impacts.
10.
Provide
a statement identifying the uses the Authority would consider for the
existing terminal site when the existing terminal is removed, as well as
the Authority’s opinion regarding the uses that would be permitted on
the site under FAA policies or regulations.
Please indicate whether the City is to consider the proposed uses
of the existing terminal site as elements of the Application for purposes
of review of a plan under Section 21661.6.
11.
Provide
a statement indicating whether the Authority – subject to zoning and
other restrictions – proposes to construct parking spaces on property
the Authority controls (other than the B-6 Property) in addition to the
5,000 spaces allowed on the B-6 Property under Paragraph C of the
Application and whether any such proposal should be considered to be an
element of this Application.
12.
Provide
a statement identifying the numbers of passengers the proposed terminal
are designed to accommodate (1) with an adequate level of service and (2)
in compliance with applicable codes.
Indicate when the Authority projects that the Airport will reach
these passenger levels. Provide
a statement indicating how the Authority would manage increases in noise,
pollution, or traffic if passenger counts exceed the level for which the
terminal is designed.
13.
Provide
a statement identifying in particular all uses and capital projects
proposed for the B-6 Property for which the Authority seeks approval in
the Application.
The Airport Authority’s provision of
this information will provide the City an adequate basis to process the
Application. Of course, we
may need additional clarification regarding the information the Authority
submits. However, we pledge
to work closely with you and your staff to expedite this process
consistent with the need for careful review and meaningful public notice
and input.
In addition, the Preliminary Analysis will analyze whether the
Application meets the criteria for approval identified in the 1996
Procedures. If the Authority
has any information, data, or analyses more recent than the 1993 EIR or
1995 EIS that would be relevant to this analysis, we encourage the
Authority to provide it to us as soon as possible.
Procedure
for Addressing Authority Application
As you know, the title transfer documents governing the B-6
Property bar the Authority’s acquisition and use of the Trust Property
for airport Purposes. Thus,
the Authority today has no legal right or ability to acquire the Trust
Property and use the Adjacent Property for airport purposes – even if
the City issues Section 21661 approval.
Because any changes to the Title Transfer Agreements and Section
21661.6 approvals are completely independent and subject to different
procedures and considerations, Burbank will address the Application for
Section 21661.6 approval independently of the Authority’s requests to
eliminate the deed restrictions, remove easements on the B-6 Property and
allow the Trustee to transfer title.
We recognize that addressing the deed restrictions and Section
21661.6 process in a purely serial fashion could be unnecessarily time
consuming. Therefore, City
staff proposes to work with the Authority’s staff to begin staff-level
analysis of the Application as soon as we receive the responses requested
in this letter. We further
propose that preparation of the Preliminary Analysis required under
Burbank procedures for addressing Section 21661.6 applications proceed in
parallel track with addressing the Authority’s request to remove the
deed restrictions.
In the interest of expediting review and legal processes, the City
proposes to follow the following generalized process for addressing the
Authority’s separate requests:
·
We request that the Authority respond
to this letter within 30 days with the requested clarifying information.
If the Authority does not submit this information by September 30,
the City will deem the Application to have been withdrawn.
However, if you need more time, please contact me before September
30, 2000.
·
Upon receipt of the information
requested by this letter and the City’s determination that it adequately
addresses the requests and demonstrates compliance with legal obligations
such as CEQA, City staff will begin assessment of the Application and
preparation of the Preliminary Analysis document.
Staff will work with you at that point to develop an expeditious
schedule for addressing the Application
·
We recommend that you authorize
Authority staff to join City staff in discussions immediately to consider
whether the Authority’s proposed project conditions justify the changes
to the Title Transfer Agreements necessary to allow the proposed terminal
project to proceed. City
Council policy, consistent with Resolution 25,747 (attached), dictates
that any proposed decision to change the terms of the Title Transfer
Agreements must be submitted for voter approval before any City Council
action. To submit a question for the next regular election for which
a question can still be certified (in February, 2001), we anticipate that
we would need to certify the question by late November. Thus, it would be desirable to conclude discussions between
the parties on modifying the Title Transfer Agreements within the next two
months.
We believe that this proposed approach
will provide the best means of addressing the distinct title transfer
issues and Section 21661.6 issues, while maintaining consistency with City
law and policies.
In order to ensure the most efficient and expeditious process, it
is critical that the City and Authority consider at this time how to
address the other approvals the Authority would need from the City to
implement it’s proposed project. Accordingly,
as part of your response to this letter, please identify all approvals
that the Authority has concluded would be needed from the City prior to
implementing the project identified in the Application.
Also, please forward any questions, concerns or issues you may have
regarding Burbank’s proposed procedure for addressing the Section
21661.6 Application and deed restriction and title transfer issues.
In the interim, please call me if you have any questions about
these issues. For the City
staff, Paul Deibel will be the principal point of contact on the Section
21661.6 process. He can be
reached at (818) 238-5250. Legal
questions can be addressed to City Attorney Dennis A. Barlow or our
special counsel, Peter Kirsch at Cutler & Stanfield.
Sincerely,
s/Susan Evans (for)
Robert Tague
Enclosures
cc:
Robert Ovrom
Dennis Barlow
Paul Deibel
Burbank City Council
Carl Meseck
bcc:
Peter Kirsch
John Putnam
Rick Pruetz
PROCEDURES
FOR
REVIEW
BY THE BURBANK CITY COUNCIL OF PLAN FOR EXPANSION
OF
THE BURBANK-GLENDALE-PASADENA AIRPORT
______________________________________________________________________________
This paper outlines the procedures and
substantive standards that the City of Burbank proposes to use to review
the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority’s proposed plan for
expansion (the “Expansion Plan”) under § 21661.6 of the California
Public Utilities Code.
I.
Introduction
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport
proposes to acquire property for use as the site of a proposed new
passenger terminal. Much of
the property is known as the “B-6” property because it was once the
site of Lockheed’s B-6 Plant.
Because the B-6 property lies within
the limits of the City of Burbank, under California Law (PUC § 21661.6)
the acquisition of the property may not begin until:
·
The Airport Authority submits a plan
detailing the proposed uses of the property to the City of Burbank; and
·
the City of Burbank holds a public
hearing on the plan and subsequently approves the plan.
The proposed acquisition of property
and the associated new terminal project are subjects of intense interest
to the residents of Burbank, the Airport Authority, Lockheed, and the
Cities of Glendale and Pasadena, among others.
The procedures presented here are
designed to provide the most expeditious review of the Expansion Plan
possible while ensuring that all interested parties are given a full and
fair opportunity to present their views on the Expansion Plan.
The City plans to reach a decision on the Expansion Plan within
ninety (90) days.
II.
SUMMARY OF SCHEDULE
DAY 1:
Notice of Filing of Application to Airport Authority
DAY 60:
Issuance of Preliminary Staff Analysis of Expansion Plan*
DAY 75:
End of Period for Public Review of Preliminary Analysis
DAY 80:
Hearing Date Set (to be Held Within 10 – 40 Days)*
Notice
of Public Hearing
DAY 90:
Target Public Hearing/Decision Date
*
If the City issues its Preliminary
Staff Analysis earlier than day 60 or sets the hearing date later than 10
days after day 80, the date of subsequent events will change accordingly.
It is the City of Burbank’s intention to reach a decision on the
Expansion Plan within 90 days after the Notice of Filing of Application is
provided to the Airport Authority
III. OUTLINE OF PROCEDURES
Submission of the Expansion Plan
The Airport Authority has submitted the
Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement and a copy of the
current Airport Layout Plan as the Expansion Plan.
(See attached letters from the Airport Authority.)
Notice of Filing of Application
The City of Burbank has determined that
the information submitted by the Airport Authority constitutes an adequate
plan on which to base a review of an airport expansion or enlargement plan
under PUC § 21661.6.
The City will notify the Airport
Authority by letter that its application for approval of the Expansion
Plan under PUC § 21661.6 is complete.
This Notice of Filing of Application will trigger the review
process. The City intends to
reach a decision on the Expansion Plan within ninety (90) days after the
Notice of Filing of Application is provided to the Airport Authority.
Submission of Additional Information
The Airport is not required to submit
any additional information regarding the planned expansion of the Airport.
However, if the Airport Authority wants to submit any other
information for consideration by the City staff in preparing its
Preliminary Staff Analysis of the Expansion Plan, the City will accept
that information until five (5) days after the Notice of Filing of
Application is provided. The
City will accept any information until the close of the public hearing.
Such information may include building
specifications, plans detailing placement of buildings, sewer lines, water
lines, etc., forecasts of aviation demand, analysis of airport capacity,
environmental procedures and analysis, an access plan, a land use plan, a
terminal area plan, development schedules and cost estimates, or any other
information the Airport Authority wishes to provide.
Preliminary Review By City of Burbank
Staff
Review of the Expansion Plan by the
City staff will begin once the Notice of Filing of Application is provided
to the Airport Authority. Within
sixty (60) days, City staff will prepare a Preliminary Staff Analysis of
the Expansion Plan (the “Preliminary Analysis”).
A copy of the Preliminary Analysis will be provided to the Airport
Authority immediately upon its issuance.
A copy of the Preliminary Analysis will
also be available for public inspection (and may be copied at the expense
of any interested party) at:
Community Development Department
Burbank City Hall
275 East Olive Avenue
Burbank, California 91502
Preliminary Analysis Review Period and
Opportunity to Supplement the Public Record
A fifteen (15) day period will be
provided for interested parties to review the Preliminary Analysis before
the City establishes the date for a public hearing.
This fifteen-day review period will begin when the Preliminary
Analysis is provided to the Airport Authority.
The Airport Authority or any other interested party may submit
written comments on the Preliminary Analysis and/or additional information
regarding the proposed expansion of the Airport during this period.
Submission of any written comments
and/or supplementary information will be voluntary only and will be
included in the public record.
Time of Public Hearing
Within 5 days of the end of the
fifteen-day period for review of the Preliminary Analysis, the City
Planner will set the date on which the public hearing on the Expansion
Plan will be held. The date
of the public hearing will be not less than 10 days and not more than
forty (40) days thereafter.
Time and Manner of Notice of Public
Hearing and Availability of Expansion Plan
Not less than ten (10) days prior to
the hearing date, public notice of the hearing on the Expansion Plan will
be provided in the following manner:
1.
Notice
of the Hearing will be published in a newspaper of general circulation in
the City of Burbank. Such
notice will:
(a)
identify the Burbank City Council as the hearing body;
(b)
notify the public of the hearing date, time, and place;
(c)
provide a general
explanation of the matters to be addressed and a general description of
the property proposed to be used for the Expansion Plan; and
(d)
inform the public that the Expansion Plan, the Preliminary
Analysis, and any comments or supplementary information submitted by
interested parties will be immediately available for review (and may be
copied at the expense of any interested party) at:
Community
Development Department
Burbank
City Hall
275
East Olive Avenue
Burbank,
California 91502
2.
Notice
of the Hearing will be provided to the owner of the subject property and
the Airport Authority.
3.
Notice
of the hearing will be provided to all owners of real property within or
outside the limits of the City of Burbank that is within 1,000 feet of the
subject property.
Written Comments Prior to Hearing and
Availability of Same
Written comments submitted prior to the
hearing will be accepted by the City at the following address:
Community Development Department
Burbank City Hall
Attention: City
Planner
275 East Olive Avenue
Burbank, California 91502
All written comments submitted to the
above address will become a part of the record of the hearing.
A copy of all written comments will be available to the public (and
may be copied at the expense of any interested party) at the above
address.
Hearing
The Burbank City Council will conduct
the public hearing on the Expansion Plan in accordance with its standard
procedures for public hearings. The
Council may continue the hearing from time to time as it deems necessary
or advisable.
Determination of Proper Public Notice
The hearing will open with a brief
report by City staff on the steps taken to provide notice to the public
and other interested parties. The
hearing will continue only if the Council determines that appropriate
public notice was provided.
Presentation/Summary of Expansion Plan
City staff will present a summary of
the Preliminary Analysis and any revision made as a result of comments or
information received during the review period.
This presentation will include a summary of the proposed
acquisition of the subject property by the Airport Authority and the role
that property will play in the proposed Expansion Plan.
Summary of communications on Matters Under Consideration
Written communications received or
provided by the City regarding matters under consideration at the hearing
will be summarized. A copy of
all such communications will be entered into the record.
Opportunity for Interested Parties to be Heard
Both those interested parties who favor
and those who oppose approval of the Expansion Plan will be heard.
Any written comments not previously submitted will be accepted and
made a part of the record at that time.
The Airport Authority will be heard
first. Thereafter, interested
parties will be heard on a first-come, first-served basis.
Opportunity
for Rebuttal
The Airport Authority will be granted a
reasonable opportunity to present rebuttal testimony.
Record of Hearing
A record of the hearing will be made
and will include: an audio
tape of the proceedings, a copy of the Expansion Plan, a copy of all
written comments received prior to and during the hearing, and any other
material necessary to provide a full, adequate record of the proceeding.
IV.
REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL
The Expansion Plan will be approved if the Burbank City Council
finds that:
(1)
The advantages to the public of the proposed expansion outweigh the
disadvantages to both the public and the environment.
Environmental factors to be considered include noise, air
pollution, and the burden on surrounding areas, including traffic.
(2)
Approval of the Expansion Plan is consistent with the objective of
adopting land use measures that minimize the public’s exposure to
excessive noise and safety hazards within areas around public airports to
the extent that these areas are not already devoted to incompatible uses.
In determining whether these findings are justified, the City
Council will consider any factors which it deems to be relevant, including
the following:
(1)
All phases of the proposed expansion, including land acquisition,
project development, and operation.
(2)
All significant effects of the proposed expansion, both direct and
indirect, over the short term and long term, including the impact the
project may have by attracting greater numbers of people to the airport.
Nothing in this section will preclude the City Council from
approving the Expansion Plan subject to conditions designed to ensure that
the advantages to the public of the proposed Expansion Plan will outweigh
the disadvantages to both the public and the environment.
Such conditions may include mandatory amendments to the Expansion
Plan, or the imposition of restrictions or limitations, to the extent not
preempted by federal law, on the implementation of the Expansion Plan.
RESOLUTION NO. 25,747
A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK
REQUESTING THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF LOS ANGELES COUNTY TO AGREE TO
CONSOLIDATION OF A SPECIAL BURBANK MUNICIPAL ELECTION WITH THE STATEWIDE
GENERAL ELECTION OF TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 2000, PURSUANT TO SECTION 10403
OF THE STATE ELECTIONS CODE, AND SETTING FORTH THE EXACT FORM OF SUCH A
PROPOSITION TO BE VOTED UPON AT SUCH ELECTION.
THE
COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK RESOLVES AS FOLLOWS:
Section 1.
That, pursuant to the requirements of Section 10403 of the State
Elections Code, the Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County is hereby
requested to consent and agree to the consolidation of a Special Election
of the City of Burbank with the Statewide General Election to be held on
Tuesday, the seventh day of November 2000, for the purpose of submitting
to the electors of the City a proposition to appear on the ballot as
follows:
|
|
Yes |
No |
Section 2.
That the Special Municipal Election be consolidated with the
Statewide Primary Election to be held on November 7, 2000, and that within
the City, the precincts, polling places and election officers of the
November elections be the same.
Section 3.
That the county election department is authorized to canvass the
returns of the Special Municipal Election.
The election shall be held in all respects as if there were only
one election, and only one form of ballot shall be used.
Section 4.
That the Board of Supervisors is requested to issue instructions to
the county election department to take any and all steps necessary for the
holding of the consolidated election.
Section 5.
That the county election department is requested to cause copies of
the ballot proposal, ordinance, impartial analysis, arguments and rebuttal
arguments to be printed and cause copies thereof to be mailed to each of
the qualified electors of the City of Burbank, California, as provided by
law.
Section 6.
That the City of Burbank recognizes that additional costs will be
incurred by the County by reason of this consolidation and agrees to
reimburse the County for costs directly attributable to the placement of
their ballot measure with the consolidated election.
Section 7.
That the City Clerk is hereby directed to file a certified copy of
this resolution with the Board of Supervisors and the county election
department of the County of Los Angeles.
Section 8.
The City Clerk shall file a certified copy of this resolution, at
least eighty-eight (88) days prior to the date of election but not later
than August 11, 2000, with each of the following:
The Board of Supervisors of Los Angeles County and the Los Angeles
Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk.
PASSED and ADOPTD this 16th day of May, 2000.
s/Bill Wiggins
Bill Wiggins
Mayor of the City of Burbank
Attest:
s/Judie Sarquiz
Judie Sarquiz, City Clerk
Approved as to Form and Legal Content
s/Dennis A. Barlow
Dennis A. Barlow, City Attorney
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
)
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES ) ss.
CITY OF BURBANK
)
I, Judie Sarquiz, City Clerk, do hereby certify that the foregoing
Resolution was duly and regularly passed and adopted by the Council of the
City of Burbank at its regular meeting held on the 16th day of
May, 2000, by the following vote:
AYES:
Council Members Golonski, Kramer, Laurell, Murphy, and Wiggins
NOES:
Council Members None.
ABSENT:
Council Members None.
s/Judie Sarquiz
Judie Sarquiz, City Clerk