Advisory Council Looking at Independence from City Airport Commission

The Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council has floated a proposal to create a separate board of commissioners to oversee the Valley airfield. After voting on a motion April 6 to look at the “feasibility and interest” in an airport commission for Van Nuys, the council tabled the matter to give airport tenants an opportunity to voice their opinions. Some council members admitted that creating a new airport commission would be difficult as it would require a change in the Los Angeles city charter, a lengthy and expensive process. The proposal originates from frustrations that recommendations from the advisory council are ignored by the Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners, the appointed body that oversees Van Nuys, Los Angele International and LA/Ontario International airports. Just by suggesting separate oversight for Van Nuys sends a signal to the airport commission that it is not listening to what the advisory council has to say, member Gerald Silver said. “There is value and a political statement in that,” Silver said. A separate commission would address a problem in that Van Nuys, as a general aviation airport, is different from LAX and Ontario, which are commercial, and has a unique needs and concerns, said council member Ken Miller. Member Robert Jackson was of the opinion that the advisory council needed to be more aggressive in selling itself to the airport commissioners and getting city leaders to be in step with its recommendations. “We need more respect and more p.r. work on our part,” Jackson said. The advisory council meets again May 4 in the conference room at the Van Nuys Flyaway on Woodley Avenue.