BURBANK BLAMED FOR BREAKDOWN; AIRPORT: DEMANDS DOOMED TALKS.Byline: Eric ERIC Educational Research Information Clearinghouse ERIC Educational Resources Information Center ERIC ERISA Industry Committee ERIC Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (Durham, NC) Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer Airport officials Tuesday Tuesday: see week. decried the city's decision to end talks organized to resolve the dispute over air terminal expansion, charging that Burbank Burbank, city (1990 pop. 93,643), Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1911. Tourism and the entertainment industry are central to its economy; several motion-picture studios and television headquarters are here. Burbank's aerospace industry collapsed with the end of the Cold War. doomed the mediation mediation, in law, type of intervention in which the disputing parties accept the offer of a third party to recommend a solution for their controversy. Mediation has long been a part of international law, frequently involving the use of an international commission, process by making unreasonable demands. ``The political reality of Burbank at this time compelled the city to ask for things the (Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena) Airport Authority is powerless to give, and we couldn't get past that,'' said Joyce Streater, the authority's president in a written statement. Streater and other airport officials said they were surprised by Burbank's announcement on Friday, adding that the terminal's fate will now be determined by the outcome of an ongoing legal battle over the $250 million project. Airport officials were unavailable for comment when Burbank called off the talks last week, leaving some to charge that the city waited until the holiday weekend to make its announcement to put the city's spin on the debate. Burbank Mayor Bob Kramer denied the charge, saying the city had notified mediator mediator n. a person who conducts mediation. A mediator is usually a lawyer, or retired judge, but can be a non-attorney specialist in the subject matter (like child custody) who tries to bring people and their disputes to early resolution through a conference. Dana Peterson of Stanford University Stanford University, at Stanford, Calif.; coeducational; chartered 1885, opened 1891 as Leland Stanford Junior Univ. (still the legal name). The original campus was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted. David Starr Jordan was its first president. several days before of its intentions to abandon the secret talks, which began in May. Seeking to explain the failure of the talks, which cost the city and airport more than $30,000, airport officials said Burbank negotiators asked for concessions they knew the airport could not make. In particular, airport representatives said the city asked the airport to agree to a curfew curfew [O.Fr.,=cover fire], originally a signal, such as the ringing of a bell, to damp the fire, extinguish all lights in the dwelling, and retire for the night. The custom originated as a precaution against fires and was common throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. that would lead to fines of up to $50,000 against airlines if flights occurred between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. But the Federal Aviation Administration Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), component of the U.S. Department of Transportation that sets standards for the air-worthiness of all civilian aircraft, inspects and licenses them, and regulates civilian and military air traffic through its air traffic control does not allow airports to impose such restrictions on airlines, these representatives said. Furthermore, airport officials said the city had asked the airport to agree to a noise budget that would not allow the airport to become any noisier than current levels, even if the terminal grew from 14 to 19 gates, as desired by the authority. But authority representatives say airlines are already using the quietest aircraft available and that any noise budget would require the airport to limit the number of flights out of the airport. Streater in her letter said the authority had agreed to study imposing such noise restrictions, but that the FAA generally does not favor these limitations and that the airport could not guarantee their approval. ``It is something that we aren't able to give,'' said Carl Raggio, an authority commissioner. But Kramer, who was on the city's negotiating team, said the city made important concessions including agreeing to a 19-gate terminal. The city previously had said it would only support a 16-gate terminal. Kramer said he believes the airport could have negotiated on the sticking points sticking point n. A point, issue, or situation that causes or is likely to cause an impasse. Noun 1. sticking point - a point at which an impasse arises in progress toward an agreement or a goal . ``We believe that if the Airport Authority would buy into our curfew with the penalty and the noise budget, than we could certainly persuade the airlines and the FAA to go along with them,'' Kramer said. |
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