Livermore plans improvements, considers scheduled service
Officials in Livermore are working to update Livermore Municipal Airport's master plan and would like to bring scheduled air carrier service to the field.
The airport's master plan was last updated in 1975, and proposed changes would extend one of the field's parallel runways while creating a displaced threshold for the other. Among the proposed improvements are lengthening Runway 25L by between 1,000 and 4,500 feet and creating a displaced threshold for Runway 25R. The displaced threshold would allow pilots to climb higher before reaching the nearby community of Pleasanton. Workshops are under way to get opinions on the changes from area residents and pilots.
In the meantime, a start-up airline has proposed offering a handful of daily scheduled flights from Livermore to Southern California. While negotiations are still ongoing, it appears that the city will require any scheduled airline to fund all necessary improvements to the airport.
The timing of the airline's request has caused some residents to express concerns that the city's proposed changes to the master plan are simply a way to prepare the airport for airline service. But observers say that the two are unrelated and the timing is strictly coincidental.
Development plans move forward near Murrieta/Temecula
Plans for a proposed residential development near French Valley Airport are moving forward with changes designed to make the development more compatible with airport operations.
AOPA Airport Support Network volunteer Daniel Murray represented the interests of the airport at a recent hearing before the Riverside County Airport Land Use Commission. Among the issues raising concern about the proposed 2,000-home development is the proximity of GPS approaches to the homes. In some cases, aircraft using the approaches would fly over the development at 300 feet agl.
As a result of the hearing, the commission conditionally approved the plan to build the development. Before the development plan can receive final approval, however, provisions must be made for better notification of homebuyers that their new homes will be located near an existing airport and that aircraft will overfly the homes at low altitudes. In addition, the homes under the flight path to the airport will be required to be built with extra noise insulation so that overflight noise inside the houses is reduced to acceptable levels. The developer also must reduce the density of homes in the development from three per acre of land to two per acre. Finally, developers must find an alternative site for the community's planned elementary school.
Dunsmuir heads back to court with new lawsuit
Pilots and the City of Dunsmuir are planning to head back to court with a new lawsuit after a similar suit failed to force property owners to cut dangerously tall trees near the local airport.
Dunsmuir Municipal-Mott Airport has been intermittently closed and subjected to operational restrictions over the past year because of the hazards posed by trees along the airport's approaches. AOPA and Airport Support Network volunteer Ken Pool have assisted pilots and other interested parties in finding ways to keep the airport operating safely.
Late last year, the City of Dunsmuir filed a lawsuit naming as defendants the U.S. Forest Service and property owners who declined to allow the city to cut trees on their land. That suit ended in failure for the city when property owners were not ordered to allow the logging. Now the city has been joined by the California Pilots Association in refiling the lawsuit.
The airport's problems began when the trees were declared a hazard to navigation. For months, efforts to have the trees removed were stalled, leading to the eventual closure of the airport. In all, about 40 acres of trees must be cleared to make the approaches safe.
New council members could turn tide in Torrance
Three new members of the Torrance City Council could help turn the tide for beleaguered Zamperini Field. All three new members of the seven-member council were supported by the Torrance Airport Association Political Action Committee.
As hoped, the council members have begun to question airport policies that they say are unfriendly to airport users, and have asked the city manager to explain why the city has refused to apply for FAA airport improvement grant funds. Those funds could be used to help improve and maintain the airport. In addition, the council members are scrutinizing city support of land uses that the FAA has deemed incompatible with the airport and activities inside the runway protection zone.
Zamperini Field has been in the spotlight for more than a year as supporters have battled a variety of efforts to close the field or hem it in with incompatible developments.
AOPA opposes discriminatory bill
AOPA has written a letter expressing its opposition to S.B.2036, which the association says is inherently discriminatory against one airport—Van Nuys Airport. The bill was recently re-amended after complaints from AOPA and other airport supporters, but AOPA believes that the changes have not resolved the issues. In the letter, Miguel Vasconcelos, director of airports for AOPA, said, "We oppose any legislation that is inherently discriminatory against one airport and independently prescribes a noise evaluation process outside of the federally mandated process."
The legislation would force Los Angeles County and Caltrans Aeronautics to conduct an expanded noise study on the area surrounding the airport. But in its letter AOPA points out that a federal Part 150 noise study for Van Nuys has been under way for several years but has never been completed. "Not completing the Part 150 study constitutes a public disservice and is in part to blame for the current situation at the airport," Vasconcelos wrote.
In addition, the letter points out that the legislation does not address how the proposed county/Caltrans noise study would be funded, adding that federal funding could help cover the cost of completing the ongoing Part 150 study but would not be available for the study proposed in the bill.
Watsonville awaits final ruling on school proposal
A recent meeting between Watsonville city officials and the California Coastal Commission has led to a zoning change that would favor a proposal to build a new high school one and one-half miles from Watsonville Municipal Airport. Because the proposal does not violate the federal aviation regulations, the FAA is not involved. That leaves the final decision in the hands of Caltrans Aeronautics, which is currently reevaluating the proposal to build the school.
In the meantime, Airport Support Network volunteer Kerrick Philleo has been involved in a number of activities designed to boost the power of airport supporters. Among those activities is the formation of the City of Watsonville Airport Advisory Committee to evaluate any issue that could affect the airport and make knowledgeable recommendations. In addition, airport supporters have formed a political action committee intended to support and promote proairport city and county officials.
Mather gets full-time control tower, fire station
Sacramento Mather Airport has announced two major improvements for the airport, including an around-the-clock control tower.
Under an agreement between the county and the FAA, the field will have a full-time contract control tower. The FAA will fund tower staffing for 16 hours each day, while the county will pay for staffing for the remaining eight hours. The tower is currently going through a certification process but is scheduled to be fully operational shortly. The airport's current CTAF frequency will become the control tower frequency, and a new ground control frequency will be established.
In addition, the Mather Airport Fire Station will be staffed 24 hours a day by county firefighters. The local fire district will assist with jurisdictional response, while the airport fire station will provide first response services. The change will cut the time it takes to respond to a call from seven minutes to two to three minutes.
Siskiyou to get runway, lighting improvements
Siskiyou County Airport will receive a variety of improvements in the coming months. Cracks in the runway, taxiway, and parking apron will be sealed. The apron will be closed while that work is under way, but access will be available to the hangars throughout the project. In addition, wiring for the approach and runway lights will be repaired. In the meantime, Airport Support Network volunteer Vernon Fueston had the opportunity to demonstrate the real value of general aviation to a local official when he helped a county supervisor with transportation to a meeting in Eureka.
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