AIRPORT PROPOSAL NEVER GETS OFF GROUND RECONCILIATION ATTEMPT FAILS AT TOWN MEETING.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

AGUA DULCE - A proposal by a Town Council member intended to diffuse long-running distrust between opponents and supporters of a small rural airstrip seeking to grow was a nonstarter Tuesday, after one member objected and the airport's owner gave the meeting the cold shoulder.

Council president Mark Flath proposed at a special meeting Tuesday to form an ad hoc committee of three local pilots who fly out of the Agua Dulce Air Park, and three residents who have complained of noise, aerobatics and other problems. He invited air park owner Wayne Spears to meet with the public and address its concerns over expansion.

It would be a step to build consensus and resolve a long-running feud over the proposed airport expansion that has split the community for decades, said Flath, who was elected in August to the panel charged with advising 5th District Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich on local policy.

``The purpose is for the pilots to work with the people,'' he said after the meeting. ``If we can't start working together now, when the commission hands down their decision, it'll have explosive implications for the community.''

The county Regional Planning Commission will continue hearings onWednesday to define the air park's decades-old expansion permit. It includes an extended runway, 55 aircraft storage hangars and four service hangars. Many residents fear a larger facility would bring more planes - even jets - and more noise to this rural town of 4,000 between the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.

But Flath's attempt to reach out Tuesday fell flat. Spears declined his invitation through his attorney Stuart A. Simke, who said in Dec. 29 letter that his client's and the community's views have been presented to the planning commission.

``The time and place for the resolution of this permit modification proceeding is now January 11, 2005, at the next Regional Planning Commission hearing,'' the letter said.

Then at Tuesday's meeting, Town Council member Mary Johnson and others accused Flath of violating the bylaws when he invited Spears without consent of the entire group. The special meeting ended with no resolution.

``The Town Council is not allowed to write letters or make statements without the Town Council itself,'' said Dee Holland, a resident and airport supporter. ``There was no meeting held to authorize him to send the letter.''

Flath said he sent Spears the e-mail inviting him to the meeting as a private citizen. His opponents held firm, though, even threatening to sue the panel. Both Johnson and Holland, along with council member Richard Dyer, had won a lawsuit last year against the group, alleging violations of state open meetings law.

``If the Town Council does violate the bylaws and the (Ralph J.) Brown Act, I would be more than willing to bring them another lawsuit,'' Holland said.

Town Council member Peg Spry said she was disappointed by the result.

``This was an opportunity to sit down and calm down and attempt to come to some resolution,''she said.

Holland said forming a committee could help ``educate'' residents - including those who have alleged airborne violations against the pilots - on airport operations and flying procedures.

``Both the pilots and the community have to be educated,'' she said Wednesday. ``The complaints are out there because they don't know what they're talking about.''

But for airport expansion opponents, it's about preserving the rural quiet and way of life. Jim Jennings, a former Town Council member and now president of the Agua Dulce Civic Association, explained his concerns by stepping outside on the frigid, dark night.

``You don't hear nothing,'' said Jennings, who resigned amid the Brown Act lawsuit. ``When you have a plane out, it's a major event.''

``Once the ruralness is gone - it's gone,'' Spry said.

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com