Burbank Airport Officials Delay Vote on $109.8-Million Loan : Expansion: Decision to postpone action on financing follows Sunday council meeting in which members complained of not having had enough time to prepare.

Reeling from accusations of bad faith, Burbank Airport officials backed away Monday from a proposal to borrow $109.8 million to finance controversial plans for a new, larger terminal.

The airport’s board of commissioners agreed to postpone action for two weeks following a rare special meeting of the Burbank City Council on Sunday, when members complained they had received inadequate notice of the vote.

Airport commissioners, some of whom were clearly stung by complaints of council members, agreed to give Burbank city officials more time to review all the documents related to the transactions.

“This was brought forward much as other types of issues have been brought forward,” said Brian Bowman, president of the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority. “I don’t believe there are tricky little things we’re trying to pull.”

Supporters of plans for a larger terminal say the project is needed to accommodate natural growth in air travel in the next few years. But opponents--particularly those in the southeast San Fernando Valley--worry about the increased aircraft noise and traffic it might bring to the residential areas surrounding the airport.

The issue of airport expansion became a major campaign theme in Burbank’s Feb. 28 primary election, when many of the 10 candidates expressed opposition to the project.

Airport officials hope to build the first phase of the terminal by 1998, which would add up to 10 more commercial flights a day to the present average of 93 and provide enough space to accommodate 5.4 million passengers.

All five members of the Burbank City Council say they support the idea of a new terminal. But they are divided 3 to 2 over whether it should be designed to accommodate more flights and aircraft gates.

Mayor Bill Wiggins, who generally favors expansion, joined his anti-expansion colleagues Sunday in instructing Burbank’s three airport commissioners to vote against the $109.8-million proposal.

Most of the money is to be used for acquiring 140 acres from Lockheed Corp. as the site of the new terminal. But Wiggins said he was troubled by wording in the proposal that states some of the proceeds would also go toward building the new terminal.

“I think, with the political climate today, it’s important to take it one step at a time,” he said. “I think the public would be more comfortable with that.”

Monday was the second time in less than a month that the Airport Authority, made up of commissioners from Burbank, Glendale and Pasadena, has been forced to suddenly change its plans to finance the controversial project because of growing opposition in Burbank.

On March 13, the board dropped a bid to issue $100 million in tax-exempt bonds, which under federal law would have required a public hearing and the council’s approval.

The Airport Authority returned with a different plan made public on Friday: to issue short-term promissory notes, known as commercial paper, immediately, and either tax-exempt or taxable bonds after two or three years, when a new public hearing may be scheduled.

If approved, the proposal would enable airport officials to avoid a public hearing any time soon and move forward with raising money from investors.

Investors holding either the promissory notes or the bonds would be repaid over time with revenues generated by the airport, Bowman said. Thus, the ability of airport officials to repay the borrowed money hinges on how well the airport performs financially.

During Monday’s meeting, a number of Burbank residents angrily rebuked the airport commissioners and blamed them for trying to approve the proposal quickly by avoiding scrutiny from the Burbank City Council.

“The way the process was handled was extremely bad,” said Phil Berlin, co-founder of the Verdugo-Magnolia Park Homeowners Assn. “You have caused the people in Burbank. . .to cross the line, if you will, to be very militant. The people are ticked off.”

Burbank’s three airport commissioners--Bowman and Councilmen Robert Bowne and George Battey Jr.--said they knew about a week ago that the Airport Authority was working on a new proposal to acquire the Lockheed land.

But they contend they had no idea it would include financing construction of the new terminal itself, which they do not support.

Bowman said he was optimistic that airport and Burbank city officials could improve their relationship in the near future. “I hope that when this all settles down, all the fear and distrust can go away.”