VICA Decries City’s Ban on Events in Van Nuys Hangars

The executive committee of the Valley Industry & Commerce Association passed a resolution Friday in opposition to a city of Los Angeles administrative ruling that prohibits public events in hangars at Van Nuys Airport and warehouses across the city. The resolution from the Van Nuys business group calls for deferring implementation of the ban at Van Nuys and Los Angeles International airports for 180 days; creating standards for review and a permitting process; and making a clear distinction between hangars and warehouses. The issue of public events at the San Fernando Valley airfield came to the attention of airport tenants and VICA on Dec. 4 at a meeting of the Van Nuys Airport Association. A fundraising event by the Mid Valley Family YMCA on Dec. 5 that was originally scheduled in a hangar at Castle & Cooke Aviation at Van Nuys Airport had to be switched to a tent because of the ban. Van Nuys Airport Association President Curt Castagna said that representatives of the Los Angeles Fire Department and the city’s Department of Building and Safety briefed members on the ban and that the fire department would now enforce it. “Other than hearing there was this administrative order, no one knew what the details were,” Castagna said in an interview with the Business Journal. “We all found out the specifics as it was relayed from DBS and the fire department. That’s when we first heard their position on it.” The ban originally came in response to a warehouse fire in Oakland two years ago that killed 36 people. Castagna questioned the relevance of banning events inside hangars, which have enormous doors and numerous safety features. “There are things that you can do to mitigate the safety factors. but to suggest a plastic tent with a 10-foot ceiling is safer than a 30,000-square-foot hangar is ridiculous,” Castagna said. He said the group’s next step was to communicate with the building and safety department, the L.A. City Council, Mayor Eric Garcetti’s office and Los Angeles World Airports about its concerns. “We just want to be involved in the due process part and provide input relative to solutions – mitigation measures and best practices – to address how we can make sure these events take place and do so safely,” Castagna said.