AIRPORTS
While Council District 4 does not have any airports within our borders, our constituents, and residents of Los Angeles in general, are affected by their operations. For CD4, Van Nuys Airport (VNY) and Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) are the most proximate, and most impactful, especially as regards flight paths and noise and particulate pollution. In addition, new aviation technologies like Advanced Air Mobility (AAM), Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and eVTOL (electric vertical take-off and landing) have the potential to drastically change our skies. While aerial transportation is governed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), our office works closely with our City, State, and Federal partners to advocate for our constituents.
An FAA initiative, NextGen, changed flight paths in the area. For BUR and VNY, the waypoints (the point where planes turn towards the runway) were shifted to the south without an appropriate assessment of the change. Rather than track the 101 freeway, the flight paths now veer further south, affecting new community residential areas. We remain engaged with LAWA (Los Angeles World Airports) on the progress of the federal Environmental Assessment process for reviewing and potentially changing the VNY waypoints. For BUR, since the airport authority is not a City of Los Angeles entity like LAWA, we seek to work with them and Federal partners to track the status of the Environmental Assessment for their waypoints.
For VNY, we introduced a motion (CF 22-1489)along with Councilmember Blumenfield and Council President Krekorian to update us on VNY compliance with the 2005 VNY Master Plan and improve the VNY Community Advisory Committee transparency. We also support Council District 6 in its efforts to evaluate the land use at the airport. LAWA is currently working on a Vision Study for VNY, and we support Council District 6’s motion CF 23-1338 to evaluate the outreach associated with this study. We also support Council District 6’s motion CF 23-1339 to prioritize a VNY Specific Plan and to set up a VNY Specific Plan Advisory Committee.
HOW TO VOICE CONCERNS
VAN NUYS AIRPORT (VNY)
For issues related to VNY, there is a public advisory body called the Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council (VNY CAC). Their meetings are usually held on the first Tuesday of each month, at 7PM.
- DATE: First Tuesday of every month*
- TIME: 7PM
- LOCATION: Van Nuys City Hall Council Chambers, 6262 Van Nuys Blvd, Los Angeles, CA
* The VNY CAC meets 10 times a year, excluding the months of July and December.
Locations may change so so check the agenda 3 days before the next monthly meeting HERE.
Written public comments are also accepted before the day of each meeting and can be emailed to vnycac@lawa.org. You can learn about other programs and information about VNY at https://www.iflyvny.com/.
For noise complaints for VNY, please go here for more information on the different ways to file.
HOLLYWOOD BURBANK AIRPORT (BUR)
Noise complaints for BUR can be made at the following website or by calling the toll-free 24-hour Noise Concerns Hotline at 1-800-441-0409.
LOCAL NEIGHBORHOOD COUNCIL REPRESENTATION
Both Encino Neighborhood Council and the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council have committees dedicated to Airport issues, if you live in those communities, you may also want to connect with them, respectively.