BURBANK SUES OVER TERMINAL PLAN.

Byline: Beth Barrett Daily News Staff Writer

In yet another legal volley in the Burbank Airport passenger terminal expansion battle, the city of Burbank on Friday filed a lawsuit seeking to block any construction on land zoned for other uses.

Peter Kirsch, an attorney representing the city, said the latest plan would place part of the terminal on land zoned for manufacturing, prompting the legal action.

Before filing the lawsuit, the city had given the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority a week to promise to conform any building plans to existing zoning, or to seek changes in the allowed land uses, Kirsch said.

Airport Executive Director Thomas Greer in a letter to the city Thursday said the terminal expansion plan presented to city leaders was preliminary.

He said it was ``premature for the city to issue one-week ultimatums'' to portray the plan as final.

``All questions about local land-use issues and the replacement terminal will be addressed at the proper time,'' he added.

But Kirsch said the city is convinced the new terminal plan is the one the authority is moving forward on, and that taking the matter before a judge in Burbank Superior Court was the proper action.

``The authority left no doubt that they intend to build the proposed terminal on the land in question,'' Kirsch said in a statement. ``At no time did the authority ever indicate the plan would or could be changed to comply with Burbank's zoning laws.''

The city claims the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority's plan to build a 19-gate terminal will add too much noise and traffic to the community.

The authority has said the current terminal is too small to handle the airport's passenger traffic and is located inside the safety-exclusion zone of a runway.