Sale of Red Bluff Municipal land considered
The FAA is considering a request by Red Bluff Municipal Airport to release a portion of airport property from federal obligations so that it may be sold to an airport tenant. If the airport land is released and the sale approved, the property would be used for a helicopter operation. Pilots and other airport users are expected to express their opinions of the potential sale in the coming weeks. AOPA has some concerns relative to the proposal and is working with the FAA.
AOPA joins lawsuit against San Jose Airport curfew
AOPA has joined in a lawsuit against San Jose, challenging the city's curfew at San Jose International Airport. In a "friend of the court" brief filed in U.S. District Court, AOPA argued that the city ordinance establishing a nighttime flight curfew based on aircraft weight was illegal under federal law and a violation of city grant assurances with the federal government.
"The curfew is unjustly discriminatory," said Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president of regional affairs. "If the San Jose ordinance is allowed to stand, it opens the door to banning other types of aircraft like Bonanzas and Cessna 210s for no legitimate reason. Noise ordinances must be targeted at specific noise levels, not arbitrary selections of aircraft."
The San Jose ordinance mandates a curfew of 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. for jet aircraft weighing more than 75,000 pounds. According to the city, the ordinance is intended "to reduce the flight frequency in the most noise-sensitive time periods by older and noisier jet aircraft."
AOPA told the court that a noise ordinance that "imposes restrictions on aircraft for reasons other than the noise produced by those aircraft [is] discriminatory and inconsistent with fair and efficient national air transportation." AOPA also pointed out that, by banning aircraft based on weight, the ordinance in fact allowed noisier aircraft to use the airport at night while prohibiting access by newer, quieter aircraft.
AOPA asked the FAA to review the legality of the ordinance back in September 1999. The agency has not yet issued its ruling.
FAA promises to hold Hawthorne to airport agreements
In a December meeting with Gary Parsons, AOPA's Airport Support Network volunteer for Jack Northrop Field/Hawthorne Municipal Airport, FAA officials insisted that they would hold the city to its agreements with regard to the airport.
Parsons met with Bill Withycombe, FAA regional administrator for the area; Monroe Balton, FAA legal counsel; and John Milligan, supervisor of the FAA's airport standards section. During the meeting, Parsons updated the FAA representatives on the continuing battle over airport property and asked under what circumstances the FAA would allow the city of Hawthorne to return airport improvement grant money and close the airport.
During the meeting, the FAA representatives said that under no circumstances would the FAA accept a return of the grant money, allowing the city to close the airport. In addition, they said that 20 acres of the airport property were given to the city as what is called "Section 16 Obligated Land." That designation carries tougher regulations than the war surplus land grants that govern much of the airport property, and the FAA officials insisted that the agency will enforce the deed restrictions associated with that land. This action by the FAA Western Pacific Region further supports the position taken by AOPA with the Office of Compliance at FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C.
State economic impact study for aviation under consideration
Caltrans Aeronautics recently told members of the California Transportation Commission's Technical Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (CTC-TACA) that state officials are still considering a study of the economic impact of aviation on California's economy. The study was requested by AOPA and other aviation organizations and is under consideration by the Secretary of Business, Transportation, and Housing Agency's office.
TACA is expected to send a letter to the secretary indicating its support for funding the study and urging that the study begin as soon as possible. In addition, Jack Kemmerly, AOPA's regional representative for California, wrote a letter to Caltrans Director Jeff Morales urging Morales to support the proposed study and to quickly appoint a replacement for Marlin Beckwith. Beckwith recently resigned from his position as manager of the Caltrans Aeronautics Program.
Caltrans Capital improvement program funding increased for 2000-2003
The Caltrans Aeronautics Capital Improvement Program covering the fiscal years 2000 to 2001 through 2002 to 2003 includes $16 million and provides increased funding for aviation in a variety of areas.
Among the expenditures approved for the new program, which is also called the 2000 Program for Aeronautics, are $1.3 million for five old projects and a total of $9.6 million for some 70 new projects.
The majority of projects included in the program involve runway and taxiway pavement maintenance. In addition, several comprehensive airport land use plans and one airport layout plan are funded.
To help airports qualify for federal airport improvement program grants, the new capital improvement program includes $5.1 million in matching funds for reliever and general aviation airports. In anticipation of increased federal airport funding, the amount of money being set aside to match federal grants is larger than in the past. Typically, $1.4 million has been set aside each fiscal year, but the new funding program includes amounts of up to $1.8 million for the 2002 to 2003 fiscal year.
In addition to the funding provided in the 2000 Program for Aeronautics, the state provides $1.5 million each year for grants of $10,000 to publicly owned, public-use airports. The grants can be used for a variety of aviation-related needs. A state loan program provides loans for publicly owned, public-use airports for projects that benefit airports and improve their self-sufficiency. During the past fiscal year, 14 loans worth a total of $8.2 million were approved. AOPA supported these funding changes.
Sonoma County environmental report denied
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors has rejected a request for more environmental study of the land surrounding Sonoma County Airport.
The airport land use commission recently requested an additional $180,000 to do more work on an environmental impact report for the airport. Advocates hoped that the further study would make it more difficult to challenge the recommendations of the environmental report. But the county supervisors rejected the request for more funding.
Bill Massey, AOPA's Airport Support Network volunteer for the airport, said that the decision will likely affect Sonoma County Airport. Development already is encroaching on the airport, and commercial interests have expressed a desire for further development in the vicinity of the airport.
Improvements near completion at Stockton Metropolitan
A variety of improvement projects at Stockton Metropolitan Airport are nearing completion, reports Dick Mesa, AOPA's Airport Support Network volunteer for the field.
A project to reconstruct the primary runway, move the localizer, improve signage, build a blast fence, and add high-intensity runway lights is nearly complete. In addition, the airport expects to receive a new FAA grant to extend Runway 29R. The federal grant will be bolstered with both state and local matching funds.
Meanwhile, a project that hopes to attract high-tech or research and development companies to the area is just beginning. Some 350 acres of airport property will be turned into a retail, commercial, industrial, and recreational complex. Access roads to the site already are under construction.
FAA to pay to update GA element of Regional Airport System Plan
The FAA has earmarked funding to update the general aviation component of the Regional Airport System Plan (RASP) covering the Bay Area. The FAA recently reported to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) that it had obtained $180,000 to update the GA portion of the plan.
AOPA has worked extensively with members of the RASP, including San Jose City Councilwoman Charlotte Powers and San Mateo County Supervisor Mary Griffin, to encourage the group to remember the importance of general aviation reliever airports in the success of any aviation plan for the region. The organization's efforts are expected to pay off as the group considers the role of such airports in the overall scheme of regional air transportation.
In addition, the MTC is considering ways that its Regional Airport Planning Committee (RAPC) can take a stronger role in aviation decision making for the region. As part of that effort, the chair of the RAPC has asked staff members to present a focused work plan in time for the group's next meeting.
Erratum
Gillespie Field in El Cajon was misidentified in "California Action: AOPA Continues Defense of Gillespie Field," January Pilot. The airport in the photograph was Montgomery Field in San Diego. Pilot regrets the error.
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