HURDLE RAISED TO AIRPORT'S GROWTH; HISTORIANS PRESS FOR BURBANK DELAY.

Byline: Eric Wahlgren Daily News Staff Writer

In what critics of Burbank Airport's expansion say could further delay the project, a federal historic preservation agency is calling for a freeze on the demolition of old ``Skunk Works'' buildings.

The Advisory Council on Historic Preservation told the Federal Aviation Agency that a study is needed on the historical significance of Skunk Works structures, where some of the country's most fearsome warplanes were built.

During the Cold War, Lockheed Martin Corp.'s top-secret Skunk Works factory rolled out the high-flying U-2 spy plane and other top aircraft - a fact that might make the buildings eligible for the National Register of Historic Places.

``There is a possibility that the buildings, because of the historical events that occurred, might be eligible for the national register,'' said Druscilla Null, a historic preservation specialist with the advisory council.

The Lockheed-owned B-6 property where these buildings sit was recently acquired by the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority as part of a plan to relocate and expand the air terminal.

Before giving the authority possession of the land, the aircraft manufacturer demolished most of the dozens of buildings on the 130-acre property where the authority now wants to finish removing the remaining 10 structures.

A lawyer for the city of Burbank, which has opposed the bulk of the expansion project, said Friday that the authority must now hold off on tearing down the structures or risk losing FAA funding for the expansion.

If the buildings are deemed to be historically significant, the attorney said the FAA would be violating federal regulations if it allowed the demolition to continue.

``Under federal law, the FAA has an obligation to make sure that no one else does anything that could adversely affect a potentially historic property,'' said Peter Kirsch, a Denver-based attorney with Cutler and Stanfield.

But an Airport Authority spokesman said plans for the property have met all government requirements and that previous state and federal studies have not determined that the buildings were eligible for the National Register.

``Before beginning any work, we gained an affirmative statement that there were no buildings that were eligible for the register,'' said Victor Gill.

Gill added that before vacating the property, Lockheed had already gutted the buildings, leaving simply the shell of the structures intact.

``I think there is a great deal of ado being made about nothing,'' Gill said, adding that the airport expansion plans call for commemorating the importance of the site with historical displays and other exhibits.

The name Skunk Works comes from a nickname for a moonshine still in the ``Li'l Abner'' cartoon strip and refers to the strange chemical odors that were generated from inside the plant's hangar during aircraft construction.

Gill said the FAA has not asked the authority to hold off on the demolition and that the airport has plans to begin removing the remaining buildings late next week.

Mitch Barker, an FAA spokesman in Seattle, said the agency's associate administrator of the airports office had just received the historic preservation agency's letter Friday and planned to review the issue before making any determinations.

The demolition debate is the latest twist in the Airport Authority's plans to meet the growth in passenger levels by building a new terminal with between 17 and 29 gates to replace the existing 14-gate terminal.

Burbank officials back relocating the airport terminal and adding two more gates, but want stricter controls on growth and operations than what the airport finds acceptable. Both sides have filed lawsuits against each other, a factor that seems to promise to delay expansion plans with litigation.

In one attempt to generate public support for the project, the authority is hauling a three-dimensional model of the proposed new terminal to Burbank's Media Center Mall for viewing this week and next.

``We are trying to show people that this is not really the monster that the (opponents) have made it out to be,'' Gill said.

In part to help pay for the land needed to build the new terminal, the Airport Authority this week raised its parking fees, which already are higher than other area airports.

CAPTION(S):

Photo: John and Elizabeth Smith check out a model of the proposed ex pansion of the Burbank Airport at the Media Center Mall.

Shaun Dyer/Special to the Daily News