Petition Drive Begun Against Hahn’s LAX Modernization Plan

Underneath the roar of planes taking off, a onetime supporter of Mayor James K. Hahn’s modernization plan for LAX launched a petition drive Saturday in Playa del Rey against the proposal.

Mike Gordon, the former mayor of El Segundo, said the plan would increase traffic and noise at the world’s fifth-busiest airport. He supports spreading flights out among the region’s other airports.

“We’re going to voters that are registered in L.A. city elections,” Gordon said, pointing to a clipboard. “These are not random people. These people really have an impact on elections.”

Gordon and Val Velasco, who heads the Alliance for a Regional Solution to Airport Congestion, are working to collect 20,000 signatures. About 20 pairs of people fanned out in the neighborhood north of the airport Saturday. They plan to take their petition to the public hearing on Hahn’s plan in two weeks and flex their political muscle in front of the mayor.

The mayor’s office says Hahn has already listened to and considered residents’ complaints about noise and traffic.

“The mayor feels confident the new plan addresses these concerns,” said Elizabeth Kaltman, a spokeswoman for the mayor’s office. “We’re not going to be able to please everybody. The concerns raised in the last 10 years have been responded to.”

Gordon stood with Hahn when he unveiled his airport proposal in 2002. Since then, Gordon has held numerous discussions with Hahn’s staff and Airport Commission members, trying to force a compromise that would please airport-area residents.

The former El Segundo mayor said he felt Hahn was ignoring the will of thousands of Los Angeles voters. Gordon began the petition drive Saturday at a park across the street from the airport fence. He and Velasco were joined by Assemblyman George Nakano (D-Torrance) and representatives of other elected officials.

About 80 people in sunglasses and shorts gathered under palm trees and speakers playing jazz, some carrying handwritten signs that said, “We’re Not Nuts, We’re Mad.” They told the crowd that Hahn had backed off from a 2001 campaign pledge to constrain airport growth so the number of passengers served annually would not surpass 78 million.

Hahn has said his plan sticks to that figure by limiting the number of airport gates. But an analysis commissioned by Gordon concluded that Hahn’s plan would allow the airport, which currently serves 54 million people a year, to grow to 87 million travelers annually.

Velasco told the crowd, “When someone breaches a contract, you can sue them.” The crowd cheered.