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U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Administrator Federal Aviation Administration The
Honorable Stacey Murphy Mayor
of Burbank 275
E. Olive Avenue Burbank,
CA 91510 Dear
Mayor Murphy: I
must confess to being troubled by your letter to the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena
Airport Authority (authority) in which you advised it of your decision to
suspend negotiations over implementation of the Framework Agreement. I am most perplexed by your allegations
that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not provided sufficient
guidance to the city of Burbank (city) and the authority to enable the
parties to formulate a local agreement that conforms to Federal
requirements. I hope this letter,
will reassure you of our unwavering commitment to work with the city and
clarifies any misunderstanding of FAA's efforts to date. Subsequent
to your visit last October and at the explicit invitation of the FAA,
representatives of the city, the authority, and the FAA had two extensive
meetings In Washington to discuss the Framework Agreement. FAA had three major objectives in
convening these discussions: 1) to better understand local needs and
concerns; 2) to identify the specific elements of the Framework Agreement
that did or could violate Federal laws and regulations; and 3) to brainstorm
on alternative approaches for meeting local and national requirements. These discussions were attended by FAA
experts in the areas of noise mitigation, including Parts 150 and 161;
airport revenue uses; the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) and Passenger
Facility Charges (PFC); and Federal preemption. Dios Marreros from the authority participated in the meetings,
along with outside counsel for the authority. The city was represented by outside counsel, Peter Kirsch and
Tim Pohle. I
believe that
these candid and detailed exchanges equipped the city and authority
representatives to fully understand Federal requirements and. therefore,
enabled them to begin the process of formulating an implementation plan for the Framework Agreement. In fact, this drafting process has already
begun. FAA has been provided access
to review those portions of the draft implementation agreement that have been
drafted. Our team of staff experts
has completed its
review of this preliminary document and is prepared to once again meet with
the drafters. As with the Initial
Framework Agreement, the implementation agreement will likewise need to
respond to Federal requirements.
These requirements fall into three basic groups, airport access and
noise mitigation measures; permitted uses of airport revenue: and the Federal
AIP and PFC sponsor assurances related to the day-to-day control of airport
development and operations. These are
complex issues and there is much more work to be done. Relocation of the terminal
is important common ground we all share.
It is my sincere hope that you will reconsider your decision to stop negotiations. We stand ready to work with the city and
the authority to continue to assist in the formulation of a viable implementation
plan. To ensure that we have
more effective communication of our collective efforts in the future, I once
again invite you to send a representative from your immediate staff or the
City Council, in addition to your legal counsel, to attend any future
discussions. I am confident that
improving the direct lines of communication with your office will illustrate
FAA's commitment to aiding in this dialogue. Sincerely, Jane F. Garvey Administration cc
: Carl Meseck, President, Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority Congressman
Howard Berman. Brad Sherman, James Rogan,
State
Senator Adam SChiff Pasadena
Mayor Bill Bogaard Glendale
Mayor Ginger Bremberg, |