Lawsuits Fly Over Plan for Air Terminal

BURBANK — The long-running dispute over plans for a new, expanded passenger terminal at the Burbank Airport will move from the mediation table to the courtroom in separate lawsuits brought by the Airport Authority and the city of Burbank, officials said Tuesday.

The Burbank City Council announced late Tuesday it had been notified of a lawsuit in federal court against the city by the Airport Authority, aimed at blocking Burbank’s attempt to require local approval of a new terminal.

At the same time, the council said it plans to file a lawsuit today in Los Angeles Superior Court against Glendale and Pasadena, which established the airport’s governing authority jointly with Burbank.

In a prepared statement, Mayor Bill Wiggins said the Burbank council is “seeking a court order that the airport commission cannot take action which might increase airport noise impacts without the concurrence of the Burbank representatives on the commission.”

Council members would not comment on the lawsuits. They planned to hold a news conference today at 10 a.m. to discuss the lawsuit.

That lawsuit is separate from a pending federal court lawsuit in which Burbank plans to challenge the Federal Aviation Administration’s approval March 15 of an environmental impact report for the new airport terminal.

Airport Authority officials could not be reached late Tuesday to comment on the airport’s suit against the city.

City officials, however, said that lawsuit challenges the city’s claim that an obscure state law gives Burbank the power to approve or deny the development of a new terminal. Airport officials have countered that the airport is an independent government agency, not subject to city development regulations.

The lawsuits appear to end any possibility that the lengthy dispute might be resolved through a mediation process that began in December.

A team of independent mediators was hired to negotiate between the city of Burbank, where a council majority opposes the terminal expansion, and the cities of Glendale, Pasadena and the Airport Authority. All of the latter support the expansion, citing safety concerns over the existing, 1930s-era building.