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GUEST COMMENTARY - As part of the community plan update for Westchester and Playa Del Rey, the city is proposing upzoning to allow housing in buildings up to “no limit” in height.
Apparently, the city forgot Westchester is next to LAX and the FAA has its own rules about height limits near airports for safety purposes. LAX is one of the busiest airports in the world and the second busiest airport in our country. LAX gets a lot of air traffic and, yes, there are emergency landings at LAX.
My husband has a doctorate in engineering and has had a long career and extensive experience in all things aviation and aerospace. Here’s what he says.
The FAA has rules about height limits to keep passengers and people on the ground safe. Sometimes it is necessary to have an emergency landing, and jets cannot always line up properly to make an ideal approach to the runway, so they have to fly over nearby buildings because it is an emergency and lives are at stake. For that reason, land in Westchester is in an “airport hazard area” and there are strict height limits throughout Westchester.
The closer land is to LAX, the lower the height limit. As an example, the Downtown Westchester area is in the “transitional surface area” of LAX because it is very close to the north runway and the runway protection zone. The height limits for that area are, of course, very restricted for safety reasons. Not so long ago, a developer wanted to build a tall building in that same transitional surface area, and the FAA limited the height to five stories because of proximity to the north runway.
Right now, and right in the same transitional surface area, a developer has applied through the Executive Directive No. 1 process to build an eight-story housing project for people of low income (8819 Sepulveda Eastway). ED 1 is a streamlined process that bypasses many requirements so the permit can be issued expeditiously and the building can be built ASAP.
Apparently, the city is bypassing the FAA. FYI, the FAA takes those rules very seriously.
Will the mayor and the councilwoman please speak with the FAA before the construction crews show up to build this building?
Another issue is that the people who live in this project will also be living within the noise contour of LAX, where the noise from jets is loud enough to damage one’s hearing, among other health problems. At LAX, the jets keep coming, day and night, just a minute apart. The noise is so extreme that over 4,000 Westchester homes were taken by eminent domain when the north runway was building because they were within the noise contour, and it was unsafe for people to live there.
The area of Downtown Westchester is also near the landing area of the north runway of LAX, where air pollution from jets is at its worst. Exposure to the ultrafine particulate matter causes a number of health problems. This has long been an environmental justice issue for people who live near and east of LAX and for union members who work at LAX. The purpose of upzoning is to give people of low income the opportunity to live in areas that are NOT near areas with toxins and pollution.
Should the rules be different if the residents are of low income? Do people of low income deserve less protection than homeowners who were exposed to so much danger that their homes had to be taken by eminent domain for their safety? I think not. In fact, I find it offensive that people of low income, including babies and children, could be living in an unsafe area that can and probably will affect their health in very significant ways for their entire lives. When my parents immigrated from Mexico, I was born into a low-income family because my father, who was a teacher in Mexico, could not get a teaching credential here because of a language barrier. So for me this is both morally wrong and it is personal.
Why is the city allowing ED 1 projects in this area with excessive noise and air pollution? Maybe because the city has exempted from ED 1 projects the coastal areas that have the freshest air and the most opportunity?
Maybe the mayor or our councilwoman can answer that question also.
Meanwhile, here’s the kicker. The city’s “letter of determination” for ED 1 projects states that the developer will indemnify the city. Now we are out of aviation and back in my plaintiff’s attorney territory. I predict many legal problems for developers who build projects in violation of FAA rules, and I predict many lawsuits by tenants who learn they are living in the noise contours of LAX and in areas they have high levels of pollution.
Can we get this straightened out, Mayor Bass and Councilwoman Park? Many areas have exemptions from ED 1 projects, so can we get an exemption that will protect the health of children and others? Or are the exemptions just for the whitest and most affluent areas?
(Rosa Padilla is a retired trial attorney and lifelong Los Angeles resident who has been a vocal advocate for her Westchester community, challenging city upzoning plans that threaten local neighborhoods with overdevelopment and environmental risks.)
