BURBANK COUNCIL MAY PUT AIRPORT EXPANSION BEFORE VOTERS.

Byline: Lee Condon Staff Writer

The Burbank City Council tonight will consider placing an initiative on the ballot asking residents whether they should approve a deal allowing the expansion of Burbank Airport.

Councilman Bob Kramer is asking his colleagues to put the issue to the people, calling it one of the most important decisions city history.

``The residents are the ones who are living under the planes 24 hours a day. Let them decide,'' Kramer said.

In a staff report to the council, City Manager Robert `Bud' Ovrom recommended against the advisory ballot measure, saying the final deal with the airport is not yet in place and it would difficult to determine exactly what question to ask the voters.

In August the city and Burbank Airport struck a ``framework agreement'' under which the airport would be allowed to expand. The deal needs to first get the approval of the Burbank City Council - a decision they are not slated to make until April.

Ovrom suggested his report that the council delay their decision until a clearer picture emerges regarding the airport's application.

The five-member council is divided on the issue. Kramer and Councilman David Golonski support the advisory vote. Councilmen David Laurell and Bill Wiggins are against the idea. Mayor Stacey Murphy is the potential swing vote. She voted along with Kramer and Golonski to ask city staff to study the issue but expressed reservations about the idea. Murphy could not be reached for comment Monday.

When Kramer first floated the idea of an advisory ballot, he said he expected that most people in the city would support the framework deal. But since then he has heard from many people who oppose the agreement. He said about 80 percent of the calls to his office are from people who oppose the deal.

``We're all assuming there is a silent majority of people who approve of it, but I'm not being contacted by those people,'' said Kramer.

The councilman has not yet decided whether he will support the airport expansion plan when it comes before the council.

``I'm going to go with what the people want,'' Kramer said.

City officials have recommended that if the council wants to hold an election it should be done to coincide with the March 2000 presidential primary, about a month before the council is slated to vote on the issue.

At the same time a citizens group dubbed Restore Our Airport Rights is preparing a petition initiative drive to kill the airport deal. They are angry that the first phase of the proposed airport expansion does not include a mandatory curfew or any caps on flights.

Former Councilman Ted McConkey, who is one of the leaders of the group, said he doubts the council will float an advisory measure.

``There will be lots of platitudes and cliches, but they won't do it. They are really trying to play games with this thing,'' McConkey said.

The city of Burbank and Burbank Airport officials warred for years over the expansion, racking up million of dollars in legal bills. Under the framework deal the airport would be allowed to move the terminal and add 160,000 square feet of space in the first phase. But in order to get to phase two, which would include upping the number of terminal gates from 14 to 16, the airport must first secure a mandatory curfew on flights from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. from the Federal Aviation Administration.