MORE HASSLES AT LAX? CITY PLAN WOULD FORCE AIR TRAVELERS TO USE OFF-SITE TERMINAL, SHUTTLES.

Byline: Beth Barrett Staff Writer

Mayor James Hahn and Airport Commission President Ted Stein are quietly floating a new $1 billion plan to funnel all Los Angeles International Airport passengers to a massive off-site facility linked by shuttles and a luggage tunnel to the airport, the Daily News learned Wednesday.

The rough outlines of the plan have been unveiled to several Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce executive committee members as part of a behind-the-scenes strategy before going public. The Mayor's Office declined to provide any details, saying the plan is not final.

The plan, intended to solve security issues arising because of terrorism threats, found some preliminary support among chamber leaders but others in the community questioned whether it would burden travelers so much that business at LAX would be jeopardized.

George Kieffer, the chamber's first vice chairman, said the briefing, which included Stein and Los Angeles World Airports' deputy executive director of long-range planning, Jim Ritchie, was general, but seemed balanced in addressing safety, security, growth and community concerns.

``We liked what we heard in (terms of) balance and focus, but we still need to see the details. The chamber will not take a position until it has a full understanding of the implications. We told the Mayor's Office that,'' Kieffer said.

Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp., said an off-site terminal with its concentration of traffic could add a lot of inconvenience to travel at LAX. Domestic travelers might opt for smaller airports, like those in Burbank, Ontario and Orange County, while international travelers could choose to fly through San Francisco.

``It's the hassle factor. You drop someone off and they have to get on a shuttle and be taken to the airport,'' Kyser said, adding he hadn't been formally briefed, but had heard ``bits and pieces'' of the proposal. ``In my experience, shuttles are not the most fun.

``What will be perceived as the hassle factor at the airport, and how difficult will it be to go through the airport? How does it all fit together, how logical is it?'' he said.

Kieffer said the briefing basically outlined the off-site terminal proposal, which sources said is being considered in the Manchester Square region, roughly at La Cienega and Century boulevards. Some of the existing airport's buildings, meanwhile, would be reconfigured, though specifics were not provided.

Missing from the presentation were specifics, including how traffic would flow to and from the new terminal from the San Diego Freeway, which already is congested much of the time.

Kieffer said the new LAX alternative - which Hahn foreshadowed in October after scrapping a $12 billion airport expansion plan in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorism attacks on New York City and the Pentagon - involves a broad rethinking of the ``aviation needs of the city,'' given the world situation, and the needs of the airport and those of surrounding communities.

``The conceptual framework is very responsible,'' Kieffer added.

Deputy Mayor Matt Middlebrook said the Mayor's Office would provide no details on the plan, but that Hahn is ``meeting with stakeholders, and getting feedback.'' Middlebrook declined to disclose who Hahn has met with.

Middlebrook said the final plan would meet the mayor's commitment not to expand LAX and not to build a road ringing the airport, leaving capacity at 78 million passengers a year, while focusing on ``safety and security.''

``We will tell the public what's going on,'' Middlebrook said. ``The proposal will be finalized in the near future.''

Stein, the commission president, and LAWA's Ritchie did not return calls for comment. LAWA spokesman Paul Haney referred calls to Hahn's office.

As outlined, passengers would come to the terminal for boarding passes and to check luggage, and then rely on shuttles to get them to their flights. The ease of getting to the airport could depend on whether taxis are allowed and a rail line extended, Kyser said.

A baggage system, with expensive and sophisticated scanning equipment, would have to be designed to handle the ebb and flow of airport traffic, including high-volume periods, which in the future could be intensified by the landing of ``superjets'' carrying hundreds of people.

The luggage tunnel, perhaps more than a mile long, would carry bags to terminals at LAX to be put aboard planes.

Kyser said, based on his understanding of the plan, business at LAX likely would suffer, including the number of flights and the retail shops in the terminals that depend on people dropping off and picking up passengers to bolster their business.

A limit of 78 million annual passengers at LAX when El Toro airport in Orange County has been eliminated as a commercial air option could be unrealistic, Kyser said.

``And what do you do about all the space in the middle, the parking garages?'' Kyser asked.

El Segundo Mayor Mike Gordon, a leader of a coalition of cities and counties opposed to LAX expansion, said the coalition also has not been briefed.

``We've been told we'll see the plan soon, when they have a final draft,'' Gordon said, adding that outside consultants will be retained to review the final proposal.

Traffic and access to the new terminal remain a concern in the absence of more concrete information, Gordon said, but the coalition's focus is to keep the airport from growing beyond 78 million passengers a year.

``We appreciate Hahn's commitment to that,'' Gordon said.