Regional Affairs
Stockton council ignores pilots, approves housing plan
Despite AOPA’s request for a moratorium on a housing development that would encompass about 900 acres near Stockton Metropolitan Airport in Northern California, the Stockton City Council recently voted 4 to 2 in favor of the project.
The development, known as Tidewater Crossing, will eventually accommodate a school and more than 2,000 homes and 7,000 people. Local pilots and AOPA had argued that placing such a high-density development close to an airport was poor public policy. The association has been opposing the plan since 2006.
On Oct. 27, AOPA officially requested the moratorium because the San Joaquin County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan is being revised, and it is likely that the project will no longer be in compliance.
The county, which has accepted federal funds for the airport, is required “to restrict the use of land adjacent to or in the immediate vicinity of the airport to activities and purposes compatible with normal airport operations, including landing and takeoff of aircraft.”
“Putting thousands of homes and a school close to an airport is incompatible land use,” said Heidi Williams, AOPA senior director of airports, “and it’s not in the best interest or safety of the community nor the airport to build that close. The battle at Stockton isn’t over—AOPA will continue to fight this development.”
November 3, 2008
