SPAS focuses on (1) potential alternative designs, technologies, and configurations for the LAX Master Plan Program that would provide solutions to the problems that the Yellow Light Projects were designed to address, consistent with a practical capacity of LAX at 78.9 million annual passengers (the Alternative Projects); (2) security, traffic, and aviation activity of such alternative designs, technologies, and configurations for the Alternative Projects; and (3), potential environmental impacts that could result from replacement of the Yellow Light projects with the Alternative Projects, and potential mitigation measures that could provide a comparable level of mitigation to that described for the Yellow Light Projects in the LAX Master Plan Program EIR.

In light of recent information and events, including a study on the safety of LAX North Airfield, the FAA and City response to the safety study, property acquisitions by LAWA, further analysis of the ground transportation system by LAWA, and updates to Los Angeles County mass transit plans, LAWA has developed various options for potential alternative designs, technologies, and configurations to the Yellow Lights Projects.

While the Specific Plan Amendment Study is underway, LAWA is moving forward with the remaining approved portions of the LAX Master Plan as well as other critical projects, including modernization of the Tom Bradley International Terminal and gates, planning for the Midfield Satellite Concourse, further improvements to passenger terminals, a new central utility plant, airfield pavement maintenance, and safety projects. More information on these projects can be found here.

As part of the Specific Plan Amendment Study and pursuant to a 2006 settlement agreement between LAWA and parties who had challenged approval of the LAX Master Plan, LAWA initiated in 2006 a community based planning process and established an Advisory Committee, made up of LAWA staff and representatives of the entities that challenged the Master Plan. Based on input from the public, Advisory Committee, Board of Airport Commissioners, and FAA, in early 2008 LAWA identified several possible options to the Yellow Light Projects and issued a Notice of Preparation (NOP) of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Between 2007 and 2009, LAWA also initiated several North Airfield Safety Studies to estimate the level of future safety associated with several alternate configurations of the LAX North Airfield. Those studies were completed in early 2010 and informed the SPAS planning process. Subsequently, LAWA reconsidered and refined various options for the potential alternative designs, technologies and configurations to be evaluated in the SPAS and the SPAS EIR and issued a revised NOP in October 2010.

With the release of our EIR, LAWA is publishing two documents to inform the public about the analysis of the Yellow Light Projects. The EIR addresses LAWA’s analysis of the environmental impacts of each alternative, while the SPAS report goes into detail on how we reached the 9 alternatives under review.