Flight 'delay' Protestors blast proposal to transform LB airport into international hub

CJ Dablo
Staff Writer
It won’t be an easy path for JetBlue Airways as it pursues its quest to offer international flights out of the Long Beach Airport. In order to accommodate its plan, the airline acknowledged that a new international customs facility must be built…eventually.
A little over a week ago, the airline officially asked city and airport officials to begin the process of creating a facility there. The move prompted councilmembers to respond quickly, and it also attracted the attention of protestors who are keen on quashing any major changes to the municipal airport.
On March 3, Councilmember Al Austin initiated a motion to put off any action surrounding JetBlue’s request for the customs facility until the Council offers direction on the matter. The 8th District councilmember’s request effectively postpones any major discussion— or even study— of the proposed international facility until summer.
In his motion, Austin also asked to delay requests for direction surrounding this matter until 60 days after the Council has full representation from all of the districts. The proposal means that discussion would have to wait until two months after a representative in the 4th District takes office. A special election to determine who will represent that district on the Council dais is scheduled for April 14.
A few dozen residents gathered at Long Beach City Hall to support Austin’s motion and protest JetBlue’s proposal to transform the municipal airport into an international destination. They held signs that called for no changes to the airport and offered no support for an international terminal.
Joe Sopo, a 4th District resident, was one of the many residents that Tuesday night who really didn’t like the JetBlue proposal.
“We can’t afford it,” Sopo told the Council. “Our airport is perfect. It’s a perfect relationship. Don’t screw with it. Leave it alone. We’ve got something good.”
Many of the protestors stressed the importance of safeguarding the airport’s noise ordinance. In an interview after the meeting, Sopo acknowledged that the noise ordinance isn’t merely a defense strategy to fight against a proposal for international flights. He explained that the ordinance itself has to be protected, warning against “unintended consequences” that might invalidate it.
“We have a great municipal airport,” he concluded. “It’s right in the middle of the city, right in the middle of some important neighborhoods, and there’s no reason to take a chance of losing [the noise ordinance].”
A couple of the residents from the 4th District told the Council that they lived near the flight path of the planes. Several who spoke during the public-comment period stressed that 4th-District residents are not now represented in any discussion of the airport since the election to choose a new district spokesperson is a month away. Former Councilmember Patrick O’Donnell left that office shortly after he won his bid for a seat on the State Assembly last November.
That Tuesday night, councilmembers toiled over Austin’s motion and offered amendments and substitute motions. Eventually the 8th-District councilmember prevailed in his fight to delay discussion of the airport customs facility. He modified his original motion to allow the Council to take up the matter in 60 days, rather than 90 days, after a 4th-district councilmember takes office.
That substitute motion narrowly passed 4 to 3. Councilmembers Suzie Price, Roberto Uranga and Rex Richardson sided with Austin. Vice Mayor Suja Lowenthal, along with Councilmembers Stacy Mungo and Dee Andrews, voted against Austin’s motion. Councilmember Lena Gonzalez is on maternity leave and was not present for the vote.
Before she voted against Austin’s motion, Lowenthal said she was “troubled” at the possibility that for several months, city staff would not be allowed to study the issue at all.
“I have many items on my policy plate that I’m not ready to take a position on today but my staff is still vetting it,” she said. “They’re not waiting until I’m ready to take a vote, and things take years.” She criticized the suggestion to stop staff work on the issue, calling that decision “irresponsible.”
Austin acknowledged that his motion would halt staff work on the proposal until well after the 4th-district election next month, but he also stressed the importance of having that district represented. He also warned against allowing the staff to research the airport issue without the Council’s input.
An airline representative outlined a long task list that the city staff would eventually have to accomplish. Rob Mitchell, manager of government and airport affairs for JetBlue Airways, said at the Council meeting that the city staff will have to initiate talks with engineers, architects and operational personnel. He added that the staff needs to investigate how to finance the project, and then after that work is done, the City Council will have to submit a request for the facility and receive approval from the Department of Homeland Security’s Customs and Border Protection. After that, he added, construction could begin.
Mitchell criticized Austin’s request to delay initial research.
“If the City truly wants to be an international city, a progressive city, a pro-jobs city, it must at least explore all the opportunities to do so,” Mitchell said.
According to a memo from Airport Director Bryant Francis, if the Council eventually agrees to proceed with the application for a customs facility, the process will take a long time. Francis estimated that it might take at least three years for the facility to be operational at the airport. His memo also acknowledges that the Department of Homeland Security may not even approve the request.
JetBlue had a few supporters in the Council Chamber Tuesday night.
Ron Salk said he was a member of the Airport Advisory Commission from 2000 to 2008. He praised JetBlue and emphasized the need for staff to study the issue before the April election.
“So they’re simply asking for international flights,” Salk said of JetBlue. “[This means the] same number of planes, same number of gates!no increase in noise. And so some of these!claims have to be dealt with because there is a serious misunderstanding in the community.”
Community advocate and a former councilmember Rae Gabelich said in an interview Tuesday night that she is pleased with the Council’s decision. Both she and Sopo remember the debates decades ago to get the noise ordinance passed. At the time, they were community advocates with a group that fought against airport expansion.
“You know, I think that this just clearly demonstrates what a long journey this is going to be!again,” Gabelich said. “But when it’s something that is so serious that it can impact the community in such a significant way, it needs to be done with full disclosure to the community, transparency and inclusion.” ß