Ontario develops regional compatibility plan for ONT

ONTARIO - L.A./Ontario International Airport is not only an economic asset to the region, but its future growth can have adverse impacts - such as increased noise and safety - for the communities in its vicinity.

Historically, a governing body from San Bernardino County has overseen a process that ensures future developments are compatible with the airport's operations.

Wanting to make the process more local, Ontario took the reins from the county and formed the Ontario International Airport-Inter-Agency Collaborative in 2008.

The six cities affected by operations at ONT and are included in the collaborative are Ontario, Chino, Montclair, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, as well as San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

City officials are now in the midst of entering into agreements with those neighboring cities on the L.A./Ontario International Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan.

Chino, Montclair and Rancho Cucamonga have already entered into agreements.

Officials hope to have all cities and counties entered into the collaborative by the end of the month.

"This is a local group, we know the issues," said Jerry Blum, Ontario's planning director who spearheaded the plan. "We will work together instead of giving that authority to regulate the airport and the land uses in (a) city to a group of people in San Bernardino County that come from the dessert. It doesn't make sense to us, we are the ones regulating the land uses in our community."

The Federal Aviation Administration, Los Angeles World Airports as well as Los Angeles and Riverside counties have been informed about the plan since they are indirectly impacted.

Ontario began the process of updating the plan in 2008, collaborating with other city planning departments. It was approved by the City Council in 2011.

Blum said it is a requirement by state law to provide a 20-year forecast for the airport.

By 2030, ONT is projected to grow to more than 30million passengers, have 343,000 annual aircraft operations and 3.26million tons of air cargo annually.

With that comes air-related concerns like safety, noise level, sufficient airspace and flight patterns, Blum said.

The plan brought the six cities to the table to devise an agreement where Ontario would take the lead in governing the process.

"The plan itself capitalizes on localized control," said Brian Granger, senior planner for Rancho Cucamonga's Planning Department who worked with Ontario officials on the plan for the past three years.

"The alternative for this is to do it out of the county. Those boards tend to be detached from local issues and not in touch with the cities that are in regular contact with the issues," he said.

This method allowed for the six cities to come together and streamline the process to review projects that are within the airport project area, he said.

A technical advisory group would review any projects or developments seeking exemptions.

If the group is in disagreement with a decision, it would then go through a meditation process, which was also established as part of the plan. The mediation board was comprised of members from each city as well as the public.

After gathering data, studying the airport's master plan as well as conducting meetings, the plan identified which portions of the neighboring cities will be impacted by one, some or all four factors.

Stated in the agreements, cities will have to recognize any conflicts and ensure steps are taken to inform the public before purchasing a home or developing a building, which may be impacted by the noise or is in the airport's flight pattern, Blum said.

Ontario is the only city that is impacted by all factors.

Rancho Cucamonga, which just this week agreed to enter into the agreement, has to now incorporate building height limitations in the southern portion of the city, which is zoned industrial, because of airspace requirements by the FAA.

Granger acknowledged that those restrictions could severely encumber development potential.

"Ontario planning staff really listened to us. We have a goal on Haven Avenue to do mid-rise buildings, ... and this is going to be a challenge for us," he said.

"They worked incredibly hard, did a survey of the features that were in the built environment such as phone lines, trees, existing buildings."

Ontario was able to get an exemption built into the plan that any structure that is 70 feet or less is not an issue if it's fully compliant.

There's even an exception built into the plan that would allow developers to apply for exemptions if they build above 70 feet.

"This is a good plan because it really strengthen and enhances localized planning of what is really a regional asset," Granger said.

Rancho Cucamonga councilmen were concerned the agreement would hamper their vision of vertically developing the city. They inquired why Ontario was able to build the multi-story Embassy Suites so near the airport.

Because of the topography in Rancho Cucamonga, there's a rise in the terrain between Fourth and Sixth streets, which causes the height restrictions, Granger said.

Blum said the area near the airport is lower, but that doesn't mean they haven't experience height restrictions with the FAA.

When officials were looking to approve the construction of the Embassy Suites, Blum said they submitted it to FAA and LAWA officials, and no one objected until they started building it.

"The FAA came back and said `you can't build the top two because it's going to be in the way of new instrument landing equipment we installed,"' Blum said.

Ontario officials worked with them for four months and did studies that showed it would not interfere with the equipment, he said.

Ontario city officials would prefer to develop the 250-acre Meredith site, just north of the airport, with 80- and 90-foot buildings. FAA will not permit it.

"The issue is one of safety. We don't want to put people in the airplane and people in the ground in danger," Blum explained.

However, within reason, the FAA will allow a percentage of buildings to be a certain height as long as safety elements are put in place such as the red lights on rooftops.

Chino - which was the first city to pass the plan in May - faces noise, airspace and overflight issues in the northeast portion of the town.

The city will amend its general plan for any homes that are built in that area, notifying them of the potential noise levels as a result of the airport, Blum said.

"It's going to take well beyond 2035 before we get that level but we need to make sure we plan," he said.

Chino Councilwoman Eunice Ulloa, who lives in the northwest part of the city, said she feels noise is already a concern.

"I understand some levels of noise, but the safety of planes are a real concern," said Ulloa who said planes fly low over parts of the city.

FAA controls the path, but if Ontario gained control of the airport then that would be something can be addressed, Blum said.

"It all gets back to working together - and this alternate process, I think it's the best thing," he said.

Reach Liset @DBOntarioNow.

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