Local News in Brief : Council Panel Opposes Noise Variance for Burbank Airport

A Los Angeles City Council committee voted Friday to oppose a variance from state noise standards for Burbank Airport unless its airport authority agrees to shift half of Burbank’s takeoffs away from East San Fernando Valley neighborhoods.

The Intergovernmental Relations Committee instructed the city attorney to present the city’s position on the variance at a Feb. 8 hearing before a state administrative law judge.

“Aircraft operations at this airport have continuously subjected the citizens of the northeast San Fernando Valley to severe noise disturbances primarily because of the inequitable distribution of departures,” said the resolution approved by the committee.

The resolution says communities west of the airport’s north-south runway--North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Studio City and Van Nuys--get noise from 85% of departures, while communities east of that runway--Burbank and Glendale--get noise from 15%.

Airport officials have said they have tried to divert flights away from Los Angeles. They say their efforts have been opposed by pilots, who consider eastbound takeoffs risky because planes must climb quickly over the Verdugo Mountains. The officials say they do not have the power to order pilots to take off to the east.