VALLEY-AREA AIRPORTS FACE HEAD WINDS.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

Burbank and Van Nuys airports are both caught between a rock and a hard place.

Each airport desperately needs modernization, and officials of both are searching for ways to keep up with the growing demand for air travel in Los Angeles and, at the same time, cope with well-organized community groups who are sure to block any effort to expand either airfield.

``We do very much care about balancing the needs of the airport with the desires of the community,'' said Richard French, a spokesman for Van Nuys Airport. ``But, at the same time, we're looking for ways to accommodate growth.''

Efforts to craft a master plan for 75-year-old Van Nuys Airport have been stalled by a dispute between nearby homeowners, who favor an increase in the number of quieter propeller-powered planes, and aviation business owners who want more lucrative but noisy commercial jets allowed at the airport.

``We're dead set against more jets at the airport, but we don't want to close the airport,'' said Gerald A. Silver, president of the Stop the Noise Coalition. ``We want it to be a responsible neighbor.''

Van Nuys Airport, the nation's busiest general aviation airport, contributes $1.2 billion annually to the Southern California economy and generates 10,000 jobs.

Since 1980, the number of jets housed at the bustling airport has increased about 600 percent from 18 to 137, mirroring a decline in the number of ``puddle jumpers'' from 1,290 to 523.

Airport supporters see jet business as the future of Van Nuys airport and favor a master plan that would boost the number of jets by 50 percent.

However, Silver and other critics want a curfew on helicopters at the airport and stiffer fines for those who violate the noise ordinance. In addition, older and noisier jets should be phased out and the number of newer jets allowed at the airport limited, he added.

``We believe the airport is an asset to the community,'' Silver said. ``But there's no doubt that the noise has become worse recently. It can't be all their way - it has to be a balance.''

Plans to expand Burbank Airport are all but dead in the water because of opposition from both the Burbank City Council and community groups.

``If there's life there, it's hard to see,'' said Victor Gill, spokesman for the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority, which voted more than a year ago to abandon its long fight to build a new passenger terminal in the face of broad community and political opposition.

Federal Aviation Administration officials had long argued that safety was paramount because the existing terminal sits as close as 300 feet to the centerline of the airport's main runway.

However, homeowners and Burbank officials had fought it, seeing the new terminal as a ruse to increase air traffic and noise, which Burbank officials say would lower the city's quality of life.

The chairman of the group that led that fight, Restore Our Airport Rights, said he was thrilled that both the FAA and airport authority had dropped their plans for a new terminal.

``The airport is a business, and I don't blame it for wanting to expand,'' said Howard Rothenbach, who also helped found the organization. ``All we wanted was to protect our community, and we were willing to do a lot of hard work. It paid off.''

However, other airport critics are concerned that, without a new terminal, Burbank officials will not be be able to deliver on community demands for limits on passengers as well as morning and late-night curfews.

Under Burbank law, any expansion of the airport would require the approval of both the City Council and a majority of voters.

A $30 million renovation and 40,000-square-foot addition have just been completed at Burbank Airport, which is to be renamed in honor of legendary entertainer and honorary veteran Bob Hope today. The renovation was required by federal officials to increase security in the wake of the 9-11 attacks.

``It's clear to everyone that the people won't accept a new terminal without curfews and passenger limits,'' Rothenbach said. ``We'll keep an eye on them and make sure the expansion plan isn't resurrected.''