A coalition of community, environmental and religious groups is negotiating
with the city's airport agency for hundreds of millions of dollars in
community
improvements in exchange for its support of modernizing Los Angeles
International Airport.
The 18
groups, as well as several school districts and labor unions, are
seeking new schools, a mobile health clinic and extensive job training
programs
in a precedent-setting deal that would require the approval of federal
aviation
officials.
The deal
is intended to keep the community groups from challenging airport
plans in court, but could also complicate Mayor James K. Hahn's efforts
to sell
his $9-billion LAX plan to the City Council later this year.
The council
will have to weigh this agreement against other demands for
mitigation from neighborhoods and cities, such as El Segundo, near the
airport.
"We're
trying to avoid a knock-down, drag-out brawl," said Joe Lyou,
executive director of the California Environmental Rights Alliance.
Residents
who live near the airport hope the agreement will help alleviate
the noise, air pollution and traffic that plague communities ringing
LAX.
"This
community has been so heavily burdened, it deserves improvement,"
said
Jerilyn Lopez Mendoza, policy director for Environmental Defense and
a coalition
organizer. "They deserve the jobs and they deserve the sound mitigation
for
their children and they deserve to breathe clean air."
Airport
officials, acting at Hahn's behest, see the deal as a way to reach an
understanding with communities that have historically opposed airport
expansion.
"We want to make friends out there every bit as much as they want
to be
friendly," said Jim Ritchie, a deputy executive director at the
city's airport
agency.
The deal,
known as a community benefits agreement, would be the largest of
its kind in the country and would start as soon as federal officials
approve an
airport modernization plan.
But there
could be significant roadblocks to an agreement.
The Federal
Aviation Administration must sign off on any deal that would
require the city's airport agency to spend its money, which is separate
from the
city's general fund, on projects off airport grounds.
The agreement
is also likely to raise concerns among the airlines, which
would be required to pay for about half of any modernization plan through
higher
landing fees and terminal rents.
Doug Wills,
a spokesman for the Air Transport Assn., an industry trade group,
said that he had not reviewed the proposal, but that it sounded as if
it could
violate federal laws against diverting airport revenue.
"When
you start talking about community grants, that goes well beyond what
is
allowed by the Department of Transportation," he said.
Airport
officials concede that asking the FAA to approve some of the things
could be a long shot.
"I'm
cautiously optimistic in some areas; where I think there's gray, we
could encourage the FAA to look at it in a different light," said
Philip J.
Depoian, senior advisor on aviation to the mayor.
Among
the key elements being negotiated, according to documents obtained by
The Times, are:
* A request
by the Lennox School District for about $190 million to build
high schools and gyms, rebuild several elementary schools and soundproof
schools.
* A mobile
health clinic stocked with medical supplies and staffed by several
doctors and healthcare workers to serve communities around LAX.
* A universal
shuttle program that would replace shuttles used by parking
garages and hotels and would be funded by fees assessed on these businesses.
* A requirement
that all businesses operating ground service vehicles at LAX
convert to alternative fuels or electrical power.
* An initiative
to help residents apply for airport jobs and assist local,
minority and women-owned businesses.
* A series
of studies to create an inventory of jet fuel emissions and other
toxic substances released into the air by airport operations.
Some groups
that have participated in the negotiations -- including the
Inglewood Democratic Club, the Los Angeles Council of Churches and the
Natural
Resources Defense Council -- say that uniting has given them more legitimacy
with city officials.
"Our
interest in joining the coalition was making sure our voice was actually
heard. Often we've had a lone voice that doesn't carry a lot of clout,"
said
Bruce McDaniel, superintendent of the Lennox School District. "Our
issue
primarily has to do with the effect of noise on learning. There are
studies that
prove that kids growing up in schools that are adjacent to airports
have
learning loss."
Agreements
like the one being forged between the Los Angeles airport agency
and community groups are rare, but not unheard of.
In Boston,
the agency that operates Logan International Airport has spent
$41.6 million to pay for green space and a 6.5-acre park near Logan,
affordable
day care, youth recreation and athletic opportunities.
Denver's
airport agency installed an extensive noise monitoring system at
Denver International Airport and agreed to pay a penalty to Aurora County
if
annual noise levels exceeded certain thresholds.
Community
groups in Los Angeles hope that the agreement with the city's
airport agency will have as much teeth as the Denver deal. The Los Angeles
agreement, they say, would give residents stronger grounds to sue if
the airport
didn't mitigate negative impacts of construction on surrounding communities.
"What
we're concerned about is enforceability," said Nancy Cohen, a senior
policy analyst at the L.A. Alliance for a New Economy and a coalition
member.
The airport
agency and community representatives are optimistic about the
chances for an agreement, saying that they're 80% to 90% there.
"There's
a necessity to get political buy-in, which gives communities
leverage to say a development of this sort must be accountable to the
community,
" Cohen said.
"It
must include a place at the table for people who are really, truly
impacted," Cohen said.
