LAX is challenged, budget approved

by Robb Fulcher

Mayor J.R. Reviczky and Councilman Sam Edgerton will fly to Washington DC next month with officials of Redondo Beach and Rancho Palos Verdes to meet with federal officials on issues of auto traffic and jetliner noise in the planned expansion of LAX.

Many beach cities officials say an unsanctioned expansion already is taking place, in bits and pieces, as residents complain of increasing over-flights from LAX.

As the emissaries prepared for the trip, the city council on Tuesday took a preliminary step toward a three-city lawsuit against the Federal Aviation Administration to halt some jetliner flights from the airport over the beach cities.

Such a lawsuit would only be filed if officials of Hermosa, Redondo and Rancho Palos Verdes agree that they "have a case," Reviczky said following the meeting.

The council discussed the potential lawsuit behind closed doors. State law allows public agencies to discuss possible litigation out of public view.

The council previously has lent its moral support to another lawsuit against the operators of LAX by the city of El Segundo.

That lawsuit claims that Los Angeles World Airports has failed to file a comprehensive Environmental Impact Report for the proposed expansion of LAX, and has improperly "continued to expand the capacity at the airport with the piecemeal approval of new projects including terminals, runways, and operating agreements."

In other matters, the council approved a balanced budget calling for $15.2 million in spending for fiscal 2000-2001, beginning July 1.

The budget sets aside 37 percent of total spending for public safety, including police and fire services, and 35 percent for capital improvements such as street and sewer repairs and an overhaul of Valley Park.

The budget includes money for a number of new projects atop Hermosa's 40 miles of roadway, including resurfacing of portions of Ardmore, 21st Street, Hermosa Avenue and Manhattan Avenue.

The budget also includes money for a number of new replacement projects along the city's 34-mile sewer system.

City officials estimate that revenues in the unrestricted general fund will reach $10.5 million in the coming fiscal year. That marks a 5 percent increase over the current budget, excluding last year's $1 million donation by longtime resident David T. Schumacher for the city's renovation of the pier head.

Some 31 percent of the general fund is made up of property taxes, with 17 percent coming from sales taxes and 12 percent from the utility users tax.

Property tax revenue is expected to increase by 5 percent in the coming fiscal year. Sales tax revenue has shot up 24 percent in the past two years and 46 percent over the past five years. ER