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Long
Beach Alliance supports airport improvements
By
Jessica Perez
Online Forty-Niner
Contributing Writer
A diverse group of Long Beach community
members has recently launched a coalition
supporting upgrades that will bring the
Long Beach Airport more comfort, safety
and convenience.
The Long Beach Alliance is supported by
residents, businesses and four former City
Council members, including co-chair Mike
Donelon, who said its purpose is to educate
and inform the public about their real initiatives.
“The ideas of improvement are to provide
facilities that would accommodate the needs
of passengers and airport personnel,”
Donelon said. “We want to improve
by building, not expanding.”
The Alliance has faced much opposition and
is surrounded by criticisms that say their
goal is to increase the number of flights.
But the campaign’s tagline, “Improvement
not Expansion,” was created to disprove
misrepresentations by groups and current
City Council members who argue that these
improvements will only “super-size”
the airport and add noisy flights.
The airport was constructed in 1941 and
was originally meant to accommodate 500,000
passengers. Currently, an estimated 3 million
passengers use the 58,320-square-foot airport
and its facilities. Supporters of improvements
argue that these facilities are limited
for the amount of traffic in the airport.
According to the Long Beach Alliance Web
site, www.lonagbeachalliance.org, some of
the development plans include improving
the insufficient parking situation, the
lack of restrooms and concessions, and the
temporary trailers and tents that stand
as facilities instead of permanent structures.
The Long Beach City Council created an advisory
commission to review the airport improvement
plan. On Feb. 8, the Council approved an
Environmental Impact Review to limit the
airport’s expansion to about 102,000
square feet, although the city favored a
larger proposal. But according to Donelon,
the Council moved forward on the plan, based
on “rhetoric and misinformation”
from anti-airport groups.
“One of our goals is to convince the
Long Beach City Council that the majority
of Long Beach residents support airport
improvements,” said Donelon.
Some frequent flyers and Long Beach residents
first heard about the coalition’s
purpose through an e-mail message sent by
Jet Blue Airways. Hundreds of letters have
been sent to the City Council about the
issue of airport upgrades, by members who
contribute, along with Jet Blue, to fund
the Alliance.
The Alliance voices the opinion that the
community should decide what improvements
should be made. In a “Pledge to the
Community,” the Long Beach Alliance
lists its principles, ensuring the improvements
planned will fully comply with the environmental
laws. It also explains that the funding
will come from airport users and not from
taxpayer’s money.
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