RAND TO STUDY SECURITY AT LAX FIRM WILL REVIEW HAHN PLAN, MORE.

Byline: James Nash Staff Writer

Saying Los Angeles International Airport faces multiple terrorist threats, Mayor James Hahn announced Friday that the Rand Corp. will look at ways to improve security at the airport in both its current and proposed layouts.

Hahn said he did not know how much Rand will be paid for its study, although one city official estimated the cost at $350,000. Rand, which has publicly criticized Hahn's proposal to build a remote passenger check-in center east of the airport, will analyze that proposal and others to revamp LAX.

Critics have said Hahn's proposal would guard against the threat of a car bomb at the terminals but ignore other vulnerabilities such as firearms or explosives strapped to people.

The Rand study will take the politics of Hahn's hotly debated $9.1 billion LAX plan out of the process, said Councilman Jack Weiss, who joined Hahn and council members Cindy Miscikowski and Alex Padilla at a news conference.

``For the last 2 1/2 years, there's been an awful lot of rhetoric on the issue of security at LAX, but precious little analysis,'' Weiss said. ``We're going to have a rock-solid security assessment performed by the Rand Corp.''

Jack Riley, director of criminal justice research at the Santa Monica- based nonprofit company, declined to comment about how his firm will conduct its study.

Hahn said the study will not conflict with his plans to modernize LAX by demolishing three terminals, building a new satellite concourse and replacing parking structures in the central terminal area with a remote facility near the 405 Freeway. Passengers would park there and take a ``people mover'' trolley to the terminals.

Hahn's proposal has drawn fire from many quarters, including neighboring communities that say it would increase jet noise. Airline industry lobbyists believe it would inconvenience travelers and do too little about security.

On Friday, Miscikowski, who represents the area near the airport, unveiled a blueprint she dubbed the ``Consensus Plan for LAX'' that deletes the remote check-in facility from Hahn's plan while requiring more regional coordination among Southern California airports to meet passenger demand.

Like Hahn's proposal, Miscikowski's envisions LAX expanding to handle about 78 million passengers annually. The airport was built for 40 million but currently accommodates about 55 million.

The consensus plan would create an oversight committee comprised of local residents, airline and labor representatives, and others that would review proposed developments at the airport. In addition, Miscikowski is calling on state officials to create a regional authority of all Southern California airports. Both ideas, Miscikowski aides said, are designed to address the perception that Hahn tried to push his plan with little outside input.

Miscikowski said her plan is a starting point for more collaborative discussion about the future of one of the world's busiest airports.

``This is meant to not necessarily be a menu from which to choose, but rather a working draft that leads to a final plan,'' she said. ``This is not meant to be ironclad.''

Miscikowski said she will present her plan to the Board of Airport Commissioners on May 24.

Hahn said much of his own airport plan has drawn praise and that the security assessment can go forward even while rival airport blueprints are debated.

``When you go outside the box, a lot of questions get asked,'' Hahn said. ``We don't think this will change the timeline at all.''

James Nash, [phone]

james.nash(at)dailynews.com