Move to Delay LAX Modernization Denied

by Gary Toebben

This past Wednesday was another critical step on the long march to a modern Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) as the front door to the largest county in the United States and gateway to South America and Asia. The Los Angeles County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) denied an appeal by the cities of Ontario and Culver City and the County of San Bernardino to delay the LAX modernization plan approved by the L.A. City Council last spring.

Though accomplished without much fanfare and little media coverage, the ALUC action represents the last approval needed by local government to create an actual framework and vision for transforming LAX into the 21st century. This framework will allow the airport to compete globally and continue creating hundreds of thousands of jobs and pump billions into our local economy each year. Along with the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, there is no single regional asset that does as much to add to our quality of life and financial well-being.

The new LAX plan, which includes a new taxiway for large aircraft on the north airfield, will add safety and efficiency, upgrade passenger terminals and lay the foundation for major improvements to ground transportation including a light rail connection to LAX. The multi-billion dollar modernization plan will now move on to the courts and the next level of review by both the Federal Aviation Administration and the California Environmental Quality Act.

We applaud the City of Los Angeles and the County of Los Angeles for having the vision to move this plan forward. There will be many more efforts to defer or delete critical portions of the plan such as the separation of the north runway. Elected officials, passengers, businesses, labor and community groups must remain persistent and strong after decades of dithering and lawsuits.

The words of Winston Churchill after a critical phase of World War II apply to this effort as well. "Now this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” We must celebrate this important victory, but stay focused until we achieve our true end.

And that's The Business Perspective.