Development Law News
On May 18, 2010, the Los Angeles City Council approved, by a 12-3 margin, a Motion calling for a study of the requirements for, and costs and benefits of, returning Ontario International Airport (“ONT”) to the control of the City of Ontario, California.
Passenger traffic at Ontario has declined from 7.2 Million Air Passengers in…
Los Angeles World Airports on Monday projected a $647.6 million operating budget for the fiscal year that begins July 1, according to preliminary figures. The operating budget covers day-to-day expenses at Los Angeles International Airport and the agency’s smaller airports in Ontario and Van Nuys. On its own, LAX’s operating costs during the 2010 fiscal…
The Los Angeles International Airport North Airfield Safety Study Final Report (“Final Report”), published on May 11, 2010, looks very much like the draft. The Final Report, like the draft, concluded that no safety problem exists on the two runways of the North Airfield. It further concludes that an additional separation of the runways by 340 feet is unnecessary for safety purposes, although useful for increasing capacity. Finally, the study concludes that an additional separation of 100 feet, originally proposed by the Cities of Inglewood and El Segundo, which would allow the addition of a center taxiway, would be sufficient to accommodate any remaining safety concerns. The study, however, reaches the correct conclusions for the wrong reasons.Continue Reading North Airfield Safety Study Final Report Confirms Earlier Conclusion That the North Airfield is Safe
The United States Department of Transportation has finally taken a step the United States Congress refused to take: it has enacted an Airline Consumer Protection Rule that, among other things: (1) limits to three hours the amount of time passengers at large and medium hub airports must spend on a delayed aircraft without deplaning (with…
On Monday, May 17, 2010, Chevalier, Allen & Lichman (“CA&L”) spoke to the City Council of the City of Park Ridge, Illinois, at its invitation, concerning Park Ridge’s dramatic and growing noise problem.
Park Ridge is located approximately two miles from the end of a new runway at O’Hare International Airport. As a consequence of…
On April 26, 2010, the Transportation Research Board published a three volume Airport Cooperative Research Program (“ACRP”) report on “Enhancing Airport Land Use Compatibility.” The authors’ mandate was “to investigate and present the current breadth and depth of knowledge surrounding land uses around airports and to develop guidance to protect airports from incompatible land…
UPDATED May 5, 2010
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced in the April 23, 2010 Federal Register that it will release the Draft General Conformity Determination for the Preferred Alternative (Alternative A) for the Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) Capacity Enhancement Program (CEP) for public comment on April 27, 2010. Ordinarily, the public has 30 days…
Pittsfield Township, Michigan, through the law firm Chevalier Allen & Lichman, LLP submitted its comments on the draft Environmental Assessment prepared for the proposed lengthening of the main runway at Ann Arbor Municipal Airport. Although the AIrport is entirely located in Pittsfield Township, the airport is owned by the City of Ann Arbor. In addition, Chevalier…
Your local airport is becoming a drain on the local economy. Sure, it provides a few jobs, adds a certain cachet to the area and provides a hobby for the few people who can afford to purchase and maintain aircraft. But the annual expense of keeping the airport running – and running safely – is becoming more and more like a lead weight on your budget. “Let’s just close the thing,” you say. But wait, remember all that money you accepted from the FAA as part of the AIP grant program to lengthen the runway, pay for new taxiways, and purchase property? The FAA remembers. And before you can close the airport, there are many hurdles to clear set by the FAA to discourage the closure of airports.
1. Take A Look At The Grant Assurances
First, take a look at the documents in your possession – the grant agreements you received from the FAA and signed as a condition of receiving the grants. As you are no doubt aware, under various Federal grant programs, you have agreed to assume certain statutorily defined obligations pertaining to the operation, use and maintenance of the Airport [49 U.S.C. § 47107(a)], that are described and implemented in FAA Order 5190.6B and memorialized in the application for Federal assistance as Grant Assurances, which become a part of the grant offer and bind the grant recipient contractually upon acceptance. 49 U.S.C. § 47107(a); FAA Order 5190.6B, “Guide To Sponsor Obligations” pp. 2-13 to 2-18.
Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood announced on Monday, December 21, 2009, that DOT was was issuing its Final Rule "enhancing airline passenger protections" by, among other things, limiting airlines to three hours waiting on the tarmac before requiring that the aircraft return to the terminal and allow the passenger to disembark. The only exceptions allowed…