TAKING TWO-PRONG APPROACH; PANEL BACKS PLANT 42 AND PALMDALE SITES FOR AIRPORTS.

Byline: Jim Skeen Daily News Staff Writer

An advisory committee agreed Wednesday to focus its efforts on developing a regional airport at Air Force Plant 42, while also supporting the eventual development of an international airport in Palmdale.

The Palmdale Regional Airport Committee, which advises county Supervisor Michael Antonovich, agreed to support a five-point plan by Palmdale officials to promote the use of an existing terminal at Plant 42. The committee's resolution of support will be sent to the cities of Palmdale and Lancaster and to the county Board of Supervisors for endorsement.

``This is the first positive action I've seen in years,'' said Larry Chimbole, a former Palmdale mayor who has worked on Palmdale Airport issues since the 1960s.

The committee, at Antonovich's urging, added a proviso to support the eventual development of an international airport on land owned by the city of Los Angeles, just east of Plant 42.

``Nobody is saying you're going to have an international airport tomorrow. You have to have a regional airport before you can have an international airport,'' Antonovich said. ``When we look at meeting the total needs of this area, we're going to need a Palmdale (international) airport.''

The Palmdale plan focuses on improving access to a 9,000-square-foot terminal inside Plant 42 that has been vacant for months.

The points are:

Create freeway-to-freeway access through the development of the Avenue P-8 bypass, a proposed east-west highway that would connect the Antelope Valley with San Bernardino County. The P-8 bypass would serve as an entryway to the existing terminal and to the 17,000 acres that Los Angeles purchased for an international airport.

Complete a proposed $1.5 million cargo ramp, opening up Palmdale as a potential air cargo port.

Annex 4,000 acres of Los Angeles property southeast of Plant 42 into Palmdale city limits. This would allow Palmdale to offer incentives to attract an air freight operator and other businesses compatible with airport usage.

Get support from the city of Los Angeles for Palmdale's proposed $6.7 million transportation center, which would serve trains, buses, and van and car pools. The center would be linked to the airport.

Ensure that Los Angeles officials continue to support a high-speed rail alignment through the Antelope Valley. A proposed multibillion-dollar, statewide high-speed rail system includes a Palmdale station. Such a system would allow Los Angeles travelers to quickly travel to Palmdale, making a local airport more viable.

``Once the improvements are in place, we believe we can handle 5 million passengers a year,'' Palmdale Mayor Jim Ledford said.

Palmdale, Los Angeles and the Air Force have a 10-year-old agreement that allows for up to 400 takeoffs and landings per day at Plant 42. Until that target is achieved, Los Angeles cannot build on the 17,000 acres it owns east of Plant 42.

By comparison, 400 landings and takeoffs is more than twice the daily average of Burbank Airport, and comparable to Ontario Airport.

A Los Angeles airport consultant is putting the finishing touches on a study - unveiled in a preliminary form last July - which says Plant 42's runways could become a regional hub serving the Antelope Valley and much of the San Fernando Valley within the next decade.

Airports officials say they are still talking to airline officials about drawing to Palmdale a replacement for United Express, which pulled out in April 1998 because of slow business.

And airport committee members are arranging a series of timed auto trips to determine how long it takes to reach the Palmdale terminal from Reseda, compared to a Reseda-LAX trip. An informal test was conducted about three months ago and the results showed that the Palmdale trip was about 15 minutes quicker.

``It's going to show graphically that we are a lot closer to the heart of the San Fernando Valley than people think,'' said Gregg Anderson, PRAC chairman.