Brown Field development plans on hold
A controversial proposal to develop an air cargo facility at San Diego's Brown Field is on hold after a memorandum of understanding between the city and developers expired in August.
The proposal has been in the works for nearly two years, but opposition to the planned cargo facility has grown steadily. Throughout that time, AOPA has repeatedly expressed serious concern that the proposal gives little thought to the needs of existing general aviation tenants and businesses located on the field.
The FAA airspace report released last fall indicated that the expanded operations associated with the new facility could cause air traffic delays at most airports in the San Diego area, including Lindbergh Field and Tijuana International Airport. Several Navy fields also could be affected.
Other concerns about the project included a lack of operating space and facilities for general aviation aircraft and the noise associated with large, heavy aircraft flying at late hours over residential areas for cargo operations.
While the San Diego City Council has held several closed-door sessions on the subject of the proposed cargo facility, no date has been set to vote on whether to extend or reinstate the expired memorandum of understanding.
ASN volunteer represents GA in media
AOPA's Airport Support Network volunteers are helping to make sure general aviation gets a fair shake in the media. Gordon Feingold, the ASN volunteer at Santa Barbara Municipal Airport, recently provided information on local and national runway incursions to a local newspaper reporter.
Feingold said he worked with the reporter on the story in an effort to ensure that the article would be balanced in its approach. The result was a story that did not single out GA as a causative factor in runway incursions and mentioned repeatedly that the risk to the public from such incidents is extremely low. In addition, quotes from Feingold helped bring the GA perspective to readers.
Sacramento County supervisors under fire over developments near airports
The Sacramento Bee newspaper has strongly criticized the County Board of Supervisors and other government officials for allowing development to encroach on the region's airports.
In a front-page article printed over the summer, the newspaper reported that growing residential developments are causing problems for area airports. Last year Natomas Airpark, a popular general aviation training field, was closed because of incompatible development.
Among the other airports being affected by development is Sacramento International Airport. That field, which opened in 1967, was built 12 miles from downtown in an agricultural area to ensure that it would be compatible with its surroundings. In the more than 30 years since, however, the number of residences near the airport has grown dramatically, leading to noise complaints and citizen requests that flight patterns be changed — an action to which AOPA is opposed.
Mather Airport also has been affected, and in a separate editorial in the same edition, The Sacramento Bee criticized the board of supervisors for actions it has taken to cause problems between the airport and the community. Despite strong opposition from AOPA and other aviation interests, the board approved the Villages of Zinfandel housing development adjacent to the end of the runway. Now the board insists that the Folsom-Cordova School District be held legally liable for any aircraft accidents caused by changes in flight patterns at Mather to accommodate a proposed school in the Zinfandel development. The newspaper blamed the supervisors for creating the problem in the first place by allowing the housing development to be built over the objections of the aviation community.
Napa to see major improvements
Significant improvements are in the works at Napa County Airport, Airport Support Network volunteer James F. Lyon reports. A contract for the first phase of new taxiway construction was recently awarded to a Berkeley firm. In addition, the airport has received an Airport Improvement Program grant for $2.7 million to fund a second phase of airport upgrades. Those projects will include completing the new taxiway, installing guidance signs, rehabilitating ramps, demolishing an unusable section of taxiway, constructing a helipad, and grading the safety area. Contracts for those projects are expected to be put up for bid in April, with construction scheduled to begin in the summer.
In the meantime, a new run-up area for Runway 24 has been largely completed. At press time only lighting and striping had yet to be finished, and those elements were expected to be in place within a few weeks. A new hangar for corporate jets based at the airport has also recently been completed, and two additional jet hangars are under construction. For the owners of smaller aircraft, the county is designing and building 11 new T-hangars. Those hangars are scheduled for completion by the end of January.
Airport officials also are working on an airport master plan for the field. That plan will take into account possible future roles for the airport as well as any needs for additional infrastructure or buffer zones. That plan is expected to be completed in December next year.
Palo Alto supporters participate in planning
Supporters of Palo Alto Airport are gearing up to make their voices heard at public meetings on the master plan and business plan for the county's airports. Robert Lenox, AOPA's Airport Support Network volunteer and president of the local airport association, is rallying pilots to attend the meetings to be held in the Palo Alto City Council chambers. Lenox and other airport supporters agree that it's important to make their voices heard if they want to avoid the kinds of incompatible development and encroachment that are causing problems at so many of the state's airports. Lenox is encouraging pilots to be prepared with cogent and persuasive arguments in support of the airport and the interests of its users.
Lenox and Airport Director Jerry Bennett also have scheduled a meeting with FAA representatives as part of an effort to restore length to Runway 31. Following an airport improvement project, the effective runway length was reduced. Lenox and Bennett hope to gain use of the lead-in taxiway on Runway 31 for takeoff, restoring the usable runway to its original length.
Construction begins near Porterville without FAA approval
Work has begun on the first phase of construction for a sports complex planned just outside the boundaries of Porterville Municipal Airport, even though the FAA has not approved the project.
A contract for the first phase of the project has been awarded and workers have begun moving dirt, according to Airport Support Network volunteer Benjamin Arnold. This is despite the fact that the project requires FAA approval, which the agency has not granted. In fact, the FAA recently asked the City of Porterville to resubmit its proposal for the sports complex because the dimensions were not correct in the version the FAA received.
Arnold and other airport advocates are in contact with FAA representatives and are considering options for halting the construction.
Airport supporters gain in fight against Reid-Hillview obstruction
Airport advocates appear to have won the latest round in the battle over a proposed transmission tower on the straight-in approach corridor to Runway 31R and Runway 31L at Reid-Hillview of Santa Clara County Airport.
Airport Support Network volunteer Robert Luten reports that last week American Tower Systems told a consulting firm to stop work on a nearly completed environmental impact report for the tower. Luten added that it was not yet clear whether the company has completely dropped plans to build the tower, which would rise between 360 feet and 500 feet above surrounding terrain. AOPA filed comments with the consultants expressing concern over the tower's placement.
The decision to stop work on the environmental impact report came after Luten spoke with attorneys for the tower company and advised them that the local aviation community would fight "tooth-and-nail to the bitter end" against any tower located at the proposed site. In that conversation, Luten also reminded the attorneys of a proposed alternative site to which airport supporters would have no objection.
California Transportation Commission learns about GA needs
With the help of a video presentation, California Transportation Commission (CTC) members are learning about the needs of aviation interests in the state. AOPA Regional Representative Jack Kemmerly recently used the presentation to educate commissioners about key issues that are negatively affecting aviation in California. Those issues include capacity constraints caused by a lack of runways and taxiways, aircraft noise issues that are leading to access restrictions at some airports, incompatible developments around airports that are leading to airport closures and restrictions, local resistance to converting former military airfields to civilian use, low priority in funding for ground access to airports, and shortfalls in the state's Aeronautical Capital Improvement Program.
But Kemmerly did more than point out problems — he also offered some recommendations that could begin to resolve these issues. Among them, he suggested that the CTC and its Technical Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (TACA), which Kemmerly chairs, work together to identify ways the state can take a role in developing California's aviation system. That role could include formulating new policies intended to foster aviation.
Kemmerly also recommended that the CTC and TACA develop legislative proposals to increase the funding and responsibilities of the Division of Aeronautics, restructure the way the division is funded to more fairly represent all segments of the aviation industry, and set aside revenues from general aviation for general aviation purposes.
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