BOARD OF AIRPORT COMMISSIONERS TO HOLD SPECIAL MEETING TO ACT ON LAX SPECIFIC PLAN AMENDMENT STUDY

(Los Angeles, California – February 4, 2013)  On Tuesday, February 5, 2013 the City of Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) will hold a Special Meeting to decide on the LAX Specific Plan Amendment Study (SPAS).  The meeting will begin at 1:30 p.m. and will be held in the Samuel Greenberg Board Room of the Clifton A. Moore Administration Building at LAX, One World Way, Los Angeles, California. 

During this meeting, the Board of Airport Commissioners (BOAC) will review and consider the LAX SPAS Final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), along with other information and testimony received during the LAX SPAS Draft EIR public comment period and comments made by the public during the January 31, 2013 Special Session, as part of its deliberation on whether to select a LAX SPAS Alternative.  Actions taken by BOAC at the February 5 meeting may be subject to review or approval by other decision-making bodies including, but not limited to, the Los Angeles City Planning Commission and the Los Angeles City Council.  Various state and federal reviews and approvals, including review by the Federal Aviation Administration, will also be required prior to implementing any LAX SPAS Alternative approved by BOAC.

The LAX SPAS identified and evaluated nine potential alternatives to certain components of the LAX Master Plan, referred to as Yellow Light Projects, including various configurations for the north airfield, terminal improvements and LAX’s ground transportation system. LAWA prepared a Draft Environmental Impact Report (Draft EIR) for the LAX SPAS in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  The official comment period for the LAX SPAS Draft EIR ran from July 27 through October 10, 2012.  Three open houses/public meetings were held in late August 2012

along with an Internet “virtual meeting” in September 2012, 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 were prepared and the LAX SPAS Final EIR was released on January 25, 2013.  An electronic copy of the LAX SPAS Final EIR document can be found on the LAX SPAS website at www.laxspas.org.

Following completion of the LAX SPAS Draft EIR, an extensive review of public comments received during the 75-day public-comment period, analysis of the environmental impacts of each SPAS alternative, and review of the SPAS Project objectives, LAWA staff identified and recommended an alternative to BOAC for its consideration as a Preferred Alternative. 

            The Staff Recommended Alternative is a combination of SPAS Alternatives 1 and 9.  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; standardizing 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 total number of passenger gates at LAX to 153, and allow for the development of northern terminals, including a new Terminal Zero and northerly extensions of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and the Midfield Satellite Concourse. 

Alternative 9 is the recommended option for LAX’s ground transportation system featuring new ground transportation facilities outside the Central Terminal Area, including a consolidated rental car facility, an Intermodal Transportation Facility, and an Automated People Mover.  Using the people mover, the public would move between the new transportation facilities and passenger terminals, as well as to the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (Metro’s) proposed rail station at the intersection of Century and Aviation boulevards. 

LAWA staff also identified two alternative locations where LAWA facilities could interface with future light rail currently being studied by Metro:  at the Intermodal Transportation Facility and at the east end of the Central Terminal Area near the entrance to LAX, preserving the option for Metro to bring light rail directly into the airport.

Implementation of the individual improvements proposed under the Staff Recommended Alternative would be subject to future detailed planning, engineering, and project-level environmental –review, such as project-level review of individual improvements under CEQA and the evaluation and approval processes of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).  Approval of the SPAS Staff Recommended Alternative would provide the platform from which the specific details of the proposed improvements would be further defined and evaluated in connection with current and future FAA standards. 

For additional information on the LAX Specific Plan Amendment Study, please visit www.laxspas.org .

            As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the City of Los Angeles does not discriminate on the basis of disability and, upon request, will provide reasonable accommodation to ensure equal access to its programs, services and activities.  Sign Language Interpreters, Communication Access Real-Time Transcription, Assistive Listening Devices, or other auxiliary aids and/or services may be provided upon request.