$11 BILLION LAX PLAN UP FOR VOTE HAHN WANTS ACTION DESPITE LIKELY LAWSUIT.

Byline: Rick Orlov Staff Writer

A last-ditch effort to salvage Mayor James Hahn's controversial $11 billion plan to modernize Los Angeles International Airport and make it secure goes before the City Council this week for a showdown debate and vote.

Although $130 million has been spent over a decade to develop and promote the plan, virtually every aspect of the proposal remains open to questions and uncertainty, and the vote is likely to be close. And even if the council passes the plan, opponents are prepared to tie it up in court for years over what they see as an illegal sleight-of-hand used to get it to this point.

With opposition from officials in county government and numerous Southern California cities, the proposal had faced certain council defeat until Hahn ally Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski proposed adopting the whole plan but yellow-lining the most controversial aspects - especially tearing down terminals and building a single off-site arrival-departure center - for final approval later.

Opponents say such a procedure violates state environmental laws, and they threaten to tie up the plan in court for years, which could delay even the first $3 billion phase: to realign runways and make other basic safety improvements.

Still, Hahn, construction unions, contractors and other supporters are ready to push ahead while critics continue questioning how much extra air traffic would result from implementing the plan, how much air fares would be driven up, how much street-traffic congestion would be increased and how safe LAX would be from terrorists.

``This is something we have to do,'' Hahn said. ``It is one of the most significant things facing the city. We have been at this a long time, and I want to see us move ahead on it.''

The proposal has undergone dramatic revisions from an initial plan to serve 100 million passengers a year and triple cargo operations.

It has been scaled back dramatically from those initial plans - which also once included potentially building a runway into the Pacific Ocean - to a point where officials now say LAX capacity would be capped at 78 million passengers a year, with a modest increase in cargo traffic and a stronger emphasis on public safety as a result of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

Most of those claims face stiff questioning when the council debates the plan Tuesday, the day before the vote is scheduled.

Hahn, who had made LAX expansion one of the pillars of his re-election bid, has backed off in recent months and left most lobbying of council members to Miscikowski.

``I have been working closely with the mayor and his office on this,'' said Miscikowski, who is backing Hahn for re-election. ``We meet at least once a week, and he has made calls where he has had to.''

The mayor recently won a critical endorsement for his proposal from the Air Transport Association, the group representing nearly all the airlines flying out of LAX.

Hahn's lower-profile approach began after three years of battles with the council over issues such as the budget and recent inquiries into ``pay-to-play'' accusations that officials in some companies have believed they needed to make political contributions to win city government business. Those accusations stemmed from an audit of the Airport Department and its Hahn-appointed commission.

Also, two members of the City Council - Bernard Parks and Antonio Villaraigosa - are challenging Hahn in the mayoral election next March 8, with each staking out his own position against the LAX plan.

Council approval will trigger a 45-day waiting period to allow Los Angeles County officials to decide if they will drop their objections to the plan and order drafting of the legal language to adopt it.

``I am hopeful we can work this out,'' Miscikowski said. ``I am talking with my colleagues, and I am meeting with county officials to try to work out something that all of us can live with.''

It is expected to be a ``hard sell,'' particularly with elections coming up next March for Hahn's office and for Miscikowski's seat that she must surrender because of term limits.

In addition to opposition from Parks and Villaraigosa, the plan has faced some questions from Councilman Jack Weiss, Councilman Tony Cardenas and others on different grounds.

Weiss has questioned Hahn and Miscikowski over how well the plan addresses increased security concerns raised by terrorist threats, while Cardenas has voiced a wide range of concerns about effects on local jobs and the environment.

The plan is important for Hahn politically.

Democratic consultant Richard Lichtenstein said the mayor has much to gain if the proposal is approved, but not as much if it is defeated.

``Clearly, if it passes, it is a major success,'' Lichtenstein said. ``He can point to it as getting something through that no one else was able to accomplish. And he has invested a lot of time and effort into this plan.

``If it's defeated, however, it's just one more vote against him.''

It was four years ago that Hahn, then a candidate for mayor, joined with other contenders to sign a pledge to limit growth at LAX to 78 million passengers a year.

Now, challengers Hahn will face in the election next March are pummeling him with questions on whether the LAX plan would actually limit growth while improving security for passengers, as well as how implementation would be financed.

To try to overcome objections, Hahn and Miscikowski crafted their compromise, which divides the airport modernization plan into two phases - ``green light'' and ``yellow light.''

The green-light projects, with a price tag estimated at $3 billion, are the focus of general agreement. Yellow-light projects have generated more controversy and, if they are to go ahead, would require more detailed study.

``What we've tried to do is give the mayor and the city councils of the future a greater say in how this airport is developed,'' said Miscikowski, bowing out next year because of term limits.

``This is too important a facility and has so much impact that every decision should be analyzed. What we have done is break out what everyone agrees with to allow it to move forward.''

But even generally agreed-upon projects carry a hefty price tag - a cost that will be borne by the airlines, tenants, passengers and federal grants.

LAX already has a passenger facility charge of $4.50 per passenger - the highest in the nation allowed by the Federal Aviation Administration. Federal approval would be needed to increase that fee.

LAX spokesman Paul Haney emphasized that the costs would be spread out over time: Total build-out is expected to take some 15 years.

The passenger facility charge is expected to generate enough money to cover up to 28 percent of the overall costs, Haney said.

Federal grants would cover 5 percent to 12 percent; fees from rental cars, 2 percent to 5 percent; airline leases and landing fees, 25 percent to 50 percent; and fees from other LAX businesses, 30 percent to 40 percent.

``We will not need to increase the passenger facility charge and don't believe this will be a hardship for the airlines,'' said Haney, a spokesman for Los Angeles World Airports, which is the city's airports department and LAX operator.

Capital costs at LAX, where there has not been a major building project since the top deck was added before the 1984 Olympics, are among the lowest for airlines in the nation, Haney said.

But the airline industry has been in trouble for years - a situation exacerbated by the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the decline in international air traffic, particularly from Asia.

``We are still waiting for a presentation from the airports folks,'' said Alan Wayne, governmental relations director for United Airlines, the biggest operator at LAX.

``We are not sure what the impact will be on us or what it means for passengers. The passenger-facility charge will not change, but the whole industry is watching this closely.''

Even with a cautious attitude, Wayne said United Airlines long has supported the modernization plan.

``Something has to be done to improve this airport to make it competitive,'' Wayne said. ``Doing nothing is not an option.''

Jack Kyser, chief economist for the local Economic Development Corp., said the financial health of the airlines has to be taken into consideration - with United and US Airways both in bankruptcy reorganization proceedings and Delta Airlines facing pressure.

``The whole airline industry is in a very complicated stage at this time,'' Kyser said. ``People don't know if they'll survive and, if they don't, what will replace them.

``At the same time, we have LAX - poor LAX - that can't seem to get respect no matter what it does. It is an important economic engine for this area, and we need to treasure it and make sure it works.''

Miscikowski said failure to act now could push planning back another four years - to the 2009 mayoral election.

``If we don't act, we will still have problems at LAX, and growth will continue,'' Miscikowski said. ``The difference is, we will not be able to mitigate any of the problems. And if we wait, it will take another 30 months at least for new environmental studies, and the costs to modernize will go even higher.''

Rick Orlov, [phone]

rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

The City Council will meet at 10 a.m. Tuesday at City Hall, 200 N. Spring St. The meeting also will be broadcast over Channel 35 on most cable networks and can be seen on the Internet at www.lacity.org.

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo:

(color) no caption (LAX sign)

Daily News

Box:

(1) IF YOU GO (see text)

(2) AIRPORT MODERNIZATION

Source: Los Angeles World Airports