This Airport master plan may satisfy all factions. (Politics).

ON Tuesday, the Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council (CAC) will vote on a new proposal for a master plan for long-term development at the airport that, according to CAC president Coby King, stands a good chance of winning a majority vote by the group.

Why? And who cares?

Because, according to King, who's served on the CAC since 1999, this plan, unlike the one that's been floating around city hall for nearly two years, calls for protection of space for the kinder, gentler propeller aircraft operators who've been slowly shut out by the growth of the louder, flashy jet operators over the last two decades.

This is key to breaking a stalemate over the now 14-year effort to develop a master plan for Van Nuys Airport, the largest general aviation airport in the country, says King, because it has a little bit of something for everyone.

The CAC, established by the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners and approved by the Los Angeles City Council in 1985, reviews issues impacting Van Nuys Airport and offers advice and recommendations to city hall and the various agencies that must approve a final master plan. Its members include aviators as well as home and business owners.

In the past, prop plane owners have asserted that they are slowly getting the life squeezed out of them as more and more jet aviators move in, creating overcrowded conditions at the airport that can only be remedied by one thing: a master plan for spreading out.

The new CAC proposal, Alternative J, according to King, sets aside more land for propeller aircraft operators. And, while King says the plan would essentially limit growth to some degree for jet operators, it's the best option ever put on the table, and he anticipates it will get a majority approval by the CAC board before a standing room only crowd, including the board's jet aviators.

Alternative J calls for a 35-acre block of vacant land known as the National Guard West site, as well as a smaller parcel on the airport's northeast quadrant, to be set aside as a haven for prop operators.

"Over the last 20 to 25 years the airport has been essentially transforming itself from a prop to corporate jet facility, hence (increasing) land prices and lease rates," says King. "So, what's happened is, economic factors have forced many prop operators to convert to jet operations. What this alternative will do is designate certain places on the airport that would be protected. I think for the first time in a number of years that it could enjoy majority support and will be adopted by the CAC. While it does place some restrictions on future growth on jet operators, it doesn't harness them either. And it does answer the problem as a compromise for neighbors."

LAWA has a proposal for a master plan floating around one agency or another, they will assure anyone who calls to ask about it. But it's a plan yet to be endorsed wholeheartedly by the CAC, the planning commission, and anyone else with a vested interest.

The Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA), the airport's landlord, has made few friends on the CAC. Although it's the city council that has final say on a master plan, without a thumbs up from LAWA any plan is unlikely to succeed.

Aviators have accused LAWA of ignoring the facility's economic contributions to the Valley and regional economy by stonewalling their efforts to expand or even refurbish their businesses.

And, residents and local business owners have pressured LAWA from the other end, citing noise, safety and pollution concerns in their efforts to stem expansion plans.

The warring factions have presented such strong and sometimes complicated cases for their positions, that LAWA has consistently found itself forced into a holding pattern when asked to approve any proposals. If Alternative J satisfies the different members of CAC, it would be that much easier for LAWA to concur with it.

If Alternative J passes muster with the CAC board, it will be sent on to the city planning commission for consideration, the first step in a whole new round of negotiations before landing before the city council.

I'd say stay tuned for a full story on how the CAC vote went and where it led in the next issue, but considering how slowly the wheels have turned with regard to Van Nuys Airport issues and a master plan in the past, I'm reluctant to make any promises.