One of the issues that got lost in the national Election Day news was dramatic for airports and for Southern California.  The voters of Burbank, California approved a new terminal for the Burbank – Hollywood Airport, replacing the 86-year old terminal.  Controversy over noise issues—which has prevented the construction of a new terminal for a generation—began in the late 1960s and resulted in the Supreme Court’s 1973 seminal case on airport proprietors’ powers, Burbank v. Lockheed Air Terminal.  The City of Burbank and the airport proprietor have been locked in a hot and cold war for almost 50 years.  The Firm assisted the City in litigation, and then in the negotiation of a cease fire in these battles in the early 2000s.

A new terminal required voter approval as the result of a City ordinance approved in the early 2000s.  Tuesday’s vote paves the way for construction of a replacement terminal that meets current FAA design standards. More information is available at http://www.burbankca.gov/departments/community-development/planning/current-planning/airport-terminal-14-gate-replacement-project  

The Firm has represented the City of Burbank since the 1990s and was instrumental in the negotiation of the complex deal that shifted decision-making power over the Airport and authorized a new terminal.