MORE THAN 200 WESTCHESTER AND PLAYA DEL REY RESIDENTS ATTEND COMMUNITY TOWN HALL MEETING TO ANNOUNCE PROPOSED LAX NORTHSIDE PLAN
(Los Angeles, California – April 14, 2017) Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) held a town hall meeting on Thursday, April 13, at Otis College of Art and Design, to brief its Westchester and Playa del Rey neighbors on its proposed LAX Northside Projects. More than 200 residents and community leaders were in attendance at the meeting to hear airport officials provide information and answer questions about the development plans.
The new project site covers 340 acres, which includes 175,000 square feet allocated for community and civic uses and nearly 50 acres of new public recreation and open space. Topics discussed at the meeting included Proposition O; the Westchester-LAX Stormwater Project; the new Airport Police Division (APD) Facility; Office, Research and Development Use; Recreational Areas, and Open Space.
The LAX Northside Plan is a comprehensive update of a planning blueprint for the vacant property located between LAX and the Los Angeles communities of Westchester and Playa del Rey. During the first phase of this plan Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) convened over 50 group and individual meetings with LAX-area stakeholders to provide information on the LAX Northside Plan Update and to seek their constructive input.
“One of the achievements I’m most proud of in my first term was downsizing outdated plans for development north of LAX, and winning approval for the community’s vision of more publicly accessible open space and neighborhood-serving retail,” said Los Angeles City Councilmember Mike Bonin, who represents LAX and nearby neighborhoods on the City Council. “Now, it’s time for LAX to make that great stuff happen, and this community meeting is an important next step.”
”A major goal of the Plan Update process is to ensure the community and other stakeholders were included to the greatest extent possible,” said Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners Vice President Val Velasco. “This project involves years of collaboration with our neighbors and our goal is to ensure the Northside Development Plan reflects community priorities and LAWA’s needs. To LAWA, the plan represents a unique opportunity to achieve significant economic investment in the area and provide needed community resources and benefits, as well as important airport support sites.”
“This plan will produce a vibrant and sustainable center of employment, retail, restaurant, state-of-the-art office, hotel, research and development, education, civic, recreation, airport support and other airport-buffer uses that support the needs of communities surrounding LAX,” said Trevor Daley, LAWA Chief of External Affairs. “Working with the communities to center on their needs means they are also invested in its success.”
The president of the Neighborhood Council of Westchester/Playa, Cyndi Hench, remarked that she appreciated LAWA’s efforts to give residents this unique opportunity to meet with the key airport officials informally at the town hall meeting prior to the project presentations. “The Transportation Security Administration choir performance at the beginning set the tone for the relaxed, open communication that was encouraged for participants. Our community members felt their concerns were heard and that is the best outcome for this stage of the development process.”
The town hall program included a presentation by LAWA Homeland Security and Public Safety Deputy Executive Director Patrick Gannon and Chief of Airport Police David L. Maggard Jr., outlining plans for a new Airport Police facility to consolidate nine APD locations into one structure
“This will provide APD officers with better resources and allow better lines of communication. It will also include space for the community (in a community room and landscaped areas),” Maggard said.
Community stakeholders also heard plans for the Prop O - Westchester-LAX Stormwater Project. The Bureau of Engineering project expert, John Saldin, told community stakeholders this is a green project, which will include the installation of a subterranean water quality treatment structure under a recreational area on the Northside property.
LAWA acquired the land with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grants in the 1970s to provide a buffer between LAX and adjacent communities. The LAX Northside Plan Update approved in June 2016 significantly reduces allowable density and associated traffic, while providing a planning framework that more effectively weaves the space into the fabric of the neighborhood.
About Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)
LAX is the fourth busiest airport in the world, second in the United States, and was named Skytrax’ 2017 Top 10 Most Improved Airports. LAX served more than 80.9 million passengers in 2016. LAX offers 742 daily nonstop flights to 101 cities in the U.S. and 1,280 weekly nonstop flights to 77 cities in 42 countries on 64 commercial air carriers. LAX ranks 14th in the world and fifth in the U.S. in air cargo tonnage processed, with more than 2.2 million tons of air cargo valued at over $101.4 billion. LAX handled 697,138 operations (landings and takeoffs) in 2016.
An economic study based on 2014 operations reported LAX generated 620,610 jobs in Southern California with labor income of $37.3 billion and economic output (business revenues) of more than $126.6 billion. This activity added $6.2 billion to local and state revenues and $8.7 billion in federal tax revenues. The study also reported that LAX’s ongoing capital-improvement program creates an additional 121,640 annual jobs with labor income of $7.6 billion and economic output of $20.3 billion, $966 million in state and local taxes, and $1.6 billion in federal tax revenues.
LAX is part of a system of two Southern California airports – along with Van Nuys general aviation – that are owned and operated by Los Angeles World Airports, a proprietary department of the City of Los Angeles that receives no funding from the City’s general fund.
For more information about LAX, please visit www.lawa.aero/lax or follow on Twitter @flyLAXAirport , on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LAInternationalAirport , and on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/laxairport1 . Information about LAX’s ongoing multi-billion-dollar LAX Modernization Program, as well as tips and shortcuts to help navigate LAX during construction, are available at www.LAXisHappening.com .
About LAX Community Relations Division
The LAX Community Relations Division develops and implements ongoing community outreach programs designed to optimize effective two-way communications with various publics. A key focus of the division is establishing programs and services that address the needs and concerns of surrounding airport communities through opportunities such as youth programs, aviation education, volunteerism, and community and civic participation. In addition, the division handles liaison activities with community-based organizations and oversees public agency-private industry partnerships. Using a positive, proactive approach to providing meaningful public involvement opportunities, the division’s work reflects Los Angeles World Airports’ (LAWA’s) commitment to balancing the need for regional economic growth with the needs of residential communities.
As a covered entity under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 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. Alternative formats in large print, braille, audio, and other forms (if possible) will be provided upon request.
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(Note: Photos from the Town Hall event follow)
Consultant Lisa Trifiletti gives an update on the LAX Northside Plan during a Town Hall meeting at the Otis College of Art and Design in Westchester on April 13, 2017.
Los Angeles Airports Police Chief David L. Maggard Jr. speaks about the proposed Airport Police Facility during a Town Hall meeting at the Otis College of Art and Design in Westchester on April 13, 2017.
Attendees review information on the LAX Northside Plan prior to a Town Hall meeting on April 13, 2017.
