AIRPORT STAFF IDENTIFIES RECOMMENDED LAX SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT STUDY ALTERNATIVE
(Los Angeles, California – December 3, 2012) The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) was presented today with staff-recommended alternatives, based on the ongoing Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) Specific Plan Amendment Study (SPAS) Report and the Draft SPAS Environmental Impact Report (EIR). The SPAS identifies potential amendments to the LAX Specific Plan for the modernization and improvement of LAX in a manner designed for a practical capacity of 78.9 million annual passengers, while enhancing safety and security, minimizing environmental impacts on surrounding communities, and creating conditions that encourage airlines to use other airports in the region.
The SPAS Report and Draft EIR identified and evaluated nine potential alternatives to certain components of the previously-approved LAX Master Plan, referred to as Yellow Light Projects, including various configurations for the north airfield, terminal improvements and LAX’s ground transportation system.
After an extensive review of public comments received during a public-comment period; staff analysis of the environmental impacts of each alternative; and review of SPAS Project objectives, staff recommended a combination of SPAS Alternatives 1 and 9 as the Preferred Alternative to be considered by the Board when they take up the issue early next year. No BOAC decision on the staff-recommended alternatives was made at the meeting.
Alternative 1 is a configuration option for LAX’s north airfield, along with terminal improvements. The recommended airfield features include moving Runway 6L/24R (the northernmost LAX runway) 260 feet north and constructing a center taxiway between the two north airfield runways; standard ardizing all Group 5 and Group 6 operations when the visibility is greater than one-half mile; and addressing runway safety area and taxiway/taxi lane deficiencies. Terminal improvement features limit the number of passenger gates to 153, but allow for the improvement of the northern terminals, including a new Terminal Zero and northerly extensions of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and the future Midfield Satellite Concourse.
Alternative 9 is an option for LAX’s ground transportation system featuring new ground transportation facilities outside the Central Terminal Area (CTA) including: an intermodal transportation facility, a consolidated rental car facility eventually to be built, and an automated people mover (APM) when ground transportation merits those improvements. In addition, LAWA is identifying three potential sites for light rail/airport circulator connections, two of which are on airport property, preserving opportunities for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) to bring light rail directly into the airport.
“Recommending the combination of Alternatives 1 and 9, while not the optimal runway configuration, is an approach that balances the needs of the airport with the stated interests of the neighboring communities,” said LAWA Executive Director Gina Marie Lindsey. “We promised to deliver a plan for LAX that is safe, environmentally balanced, sustainable, and financially responsible all while improving the passenger experience and ensuring that LAX will continue to be L.A.’s economic engine for years to come. We have done just that.”
Earlier this year, LAWA prepared a Draft EIR for the LAX SPAS in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The official comment period for the Draft EIR ran from July 27 through October 10, 2012. Three open houses/public meetings were held in late August along with an Internet “virtual meeting” in September, which allowed the public to participate in the process
prior to the close of the comment period if they were unable to attend one of the meetings in person. Formal responses to submitted comments are being prepared and will be included in the final EIR, which is scheduled for release in January.
The majority of the environmental impacts presented in the Draft EIR are a result of the regional development and annual passenger growth expected to occur independent of the implementation of any SPAS alternative, including significant and unavoidable impacts to: on- and off-airport transportation, air quality, greenhouse gases, human health risk, land use, aircraft noise, construction equipment noise, solid waste, and related cumulative impacts.
LAWA staff will next complete the Final EIR, including a discussion of the Staff-Recommended Alternative, for review and consideration by the Board of Airport Commissioners, which will also consider other information and the public comments and LAWA responses as part of their deliberations. A decision, if any, on SPAS by the Board is subject to review and approval by other local decision-making bodies including, but not limited to, the Los Angeles City Council and the County of Los Angeles. Various state and federal reviews and approvals, including by the Federal Aviation Administration, are also required prior to implementing any LAX SPAS alternative.
For additional information on the LAX Specific Plan Amendment Study, contact SPAS Program Director Diego Alvarez at (424) 646-5179, or visitwww.laxspas.org.
