Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Airport Economy topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City Council urges airport commission to extend post-9/11 rent relief for LAX concessionaires; instructs CAO/CLA to report back
Summary
After public testimony from concessionaires and workers about sustained revenue losses after Sept. 11, the Los Angeles City Council approved a substitute motion asking Los Angeles World Airports to review concession relief on a case-by-case basis and directed the CAO and CLA to report back on accepting federal funds.
The City Council on Dec. 14 reopened a public hearing on airport concession relief and approved a substitute motion asking Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) to reassess rent relief beyond the initial October–December package the airport commission adopted.
Concession operators, small-business owners and labor representatives testified that sales remained sharply lower at Los Angeles International Airport and that the October–December minimum-rent relief was insufficient. WH Smith, DFS duty-free, currency-exchange operators, DBE partners and other concessionaires described sales declines since October of 21–60% compared with the prior year and urged the council and airport commission to extend minimum-rent relief past Dec. 31.
Tom Walsh of Local 814 said a “full one third of our members are not working right now and they won't be working through the holiday season,” and he urged the city to press LAWA for longer relief tied to rehiring. Several concessionaires and their DBE partners requested relief be continued at least through July 2002, or that the airport reassess relief quarterly until passenger traffic recovers.
City staff flagged tradeoffs for council members. The City Administrative Officer and Chief Legislative Analyst noted LAWA had also suffered a major revenue loss and reported an estimated $9.5 million cost to the airport from the October–December minimum-rent adjustments. The CAO noted the airport had access to federal security reimbursement funds that LAWA had not yet accepted, and the council directed city staff to pursue whether accepting federal funds could help cover security or related costs.
Councilmember Mary Galanter (making the motion at committee) urged a case-by-case review because some concessions appear more severely affected than others; several council members pressed airport management to move quickly given layoffs and business failures already under way. Councilmember Nick Pacheco suggested exploring longer repayment schedules or deferrals rather than outright waivers to avoid legal risks and to better protect workers and community services.
The council approved a substitute motion adopting recommendations from the CAO and CLA, and directing the CAO and CLA to report back to the Commerce Committee on options for accepting federal funds and other measures. The roll call recorded the substitute motion’s passage with an 11–2 tally. The council asked LAWA to revisit relief and consider targeted approaches to preserve jobs and ensure contract compliance.
