Plenty of work still to be done before construction of the replacement terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport
The Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority is still a long way from proceeding with any type of construction of its replacement terminal.
On Monday, John Hatanaka, the authority’s senior deputy executive director, gave airport commissioners the rundown on the status of the project, which is to build a new 14-gate replacement terminal in the northwest region of the Hollywood Burbank Airport, known as the B-6 site.
Authority members have been trying to move quickly to start the construction process. In February, commissioners signed off on soil and soil-vapor tests that needed to be conducted at the B-6 property, which was once the home of Lockheed Corp.’s Skunk Works operation.
Testing was completed in April, and the report is expected to be finished by mid-June, Hatanaka said.
While authority members wait for the report to be completed, Hatanaka said they can move forward with other tasks that need to be done, such as a revision of the airport layout plan, which is a document that identifies all of the buildings, aircraft approaches, and takeoffs and other activities at the airfield.
He said that because Hollywood Burbank does not have an airport master plan, the Federal Aviation Administration is allowing the authority to thoroughly update its layout plan so a consultant approved by the airport and the FAA can move forward with preparing an environmental-impact statement study on the terminal project.
The authority will be working with the FAA’s Los Angeles Airport District Office to ensure that the layout plan meets all of the current federal standards, Hatanaka said.
One phase of updating the layout plan involves completing an FAA airport geographic information survey, which will include a new base map of the airfield, the facility elevations of the new project and the ground contours. Airport staff members expect to submit the information to the federal agency by May 21, Hatanaka said.
The second phase of the survey will include the arrivals and departures to and from Hollywood Burbank. It is expected to take about five months to complete.
Hatanaka said he is expecting the airport layout plan to be completed and submitted to the FAA by the end of June.
While all of that is being worked on, Hatanaka said authority members are looking to send out requests for information on various tasks. One request would be to have someone validate the development agreement and estimate the costs for the entire project.
Another request would be for a contractor to coordinate charrettes, or community meetings, with Burbank residents and those in the surrounding communities. The authority is also seeking a consultant to conduct the environmental impact statement study.