Panel Delays Action on Aviation Museum : Neighbors Criticize Recommendation Involving Van Nuys Airport Site

A decision on building an aviation museum as part of the redevelopment of about 90 acres of the Van Nuys Airport was delayed Wednesday when the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners sent a recommendation on the issue back to its consultant for additional study.

The board’s consultant had recommended a plan devoting five acres to the museum and a park.

But the airport’s neighbors oppose the plan because they said it includes too much space for aviation-related uses and not enough for public use, such as the museum. An association of the airport’s commercial tenants also opposes the plan, saying the 16 acres it set aside for aviation is insufficient.

“The aviation community is mad because we kept it at only 16 acres, and the general community is mad because of the 16 acres,” Commissioner Robert A. Chick said.

He said the commission set a ceiling on aviation-related uses on the redevelopment site, two-thirds of which is being vacated by the Air National Guard, in response to residents’ concerns about increasing aircraft noise.

The National Guard is scheduled to complete the move from its 62-acre facility to Point Mugu by early next year, and the airport commission wants to increase airport revenue by redeveloping that site, plus 30 neighboring acres.

‘Handout to Community’

The limit on aviation-related uses was “a handout to the community, to say we believe the growth of the airport should be limited,” Chick said.

Don Schultz, president of Ban Airport Noise, said the recommended redevelopment plan ignores the wishes of the community. He said the plan that was the “community’s overwhelming choice”--designating 33.5 acres for the museum and park--is being ignored by the airport board.

But Rick Voorhis, president of the Van Nuys Airport Assn., said aviation uses of the redevelopment area should not be limited to 16 acres.

He said non-aviation leases in the redevelopment area, combined with fee hikes, would dramatically increase airport revenue at the expense of community aviation. The federal government donated the airport to Los Angeles after World War II to serve national aviation interests, not to generate money for the city, he argued.

P&D; Technologies, the project’s consultants, presented to the board Wednesday four redevelopment alternatives that include a mix of industrial, research, commercial and public space. Each includes establishment of an aviation museum and public park on the airport property, ranging in size from two acres to 33.5 acres.

The plan recommended by P&D; sets

aside about 62 acres for offices, light industry and stores--the most acreage of any of the four plans devoted to those uses--and would generate about $6 million annually in revenue. That alternative would also place the greatest demand on the city’s water supply and create the the largest amount of solid waste and nearly the most traffic.

But the board asked P&D; to restudy its recommendation and to consider the impact of relocating the Flyaway bus terminal, a city Fire Department helicopter repair facility or a city police station onto airport property.

A fifth plan--a hybrid of the others that also proposes relocating the 25-acre Flyaway terminal onto the redevelopment site--was endorsed by the airport’s Citizens Advisory Council. That alternative sets aside 17.5 acres for a park and museum.

The Flyaway, which runs 51 bus trips a day between the terminal and Los Angeles International Airport, now operates at a nearby site on Woodley Avenue.

The Los Angeles Police Department has expressed interest in building an additional police station in the area in the next five to seven years, and the Fire Department is considering moving its helicopter base onto the site.

The board also asked the Irvine-based planning and engineering consultant to re-examine its recommendation for the amount of acreage to be set aside for the museum and park. P&D; is to come back with another report in November.

After the airport board endorses one of P&D;’s recommendations, the planning firm will prepare detailed traffic studies and environmental impact reports. The plan finally approved by the airport board will have to be voted on by the Los Angeles City Council.