We’ve been saying it for years. But it’s nice to hear the mainstream media pick up the argument. The Los Angeles Times editorial board said, with regard to Santa Monica Airport, “Open to private business and recreational aircraft, it relieves Los Angeles International Airport of some smaller plane traffic. Flight schools, airplane maintenance, charter jet businesses, and emergency and medical flight services all use it as a base.” The editorial goes on to address the safety concerns of neighbors with – are you ready for this – actual data. Well done LA Times.
SMO vote disappointing to GA advocates
A city sponsored ballot initiative — Measure LC — has passed in Santa Monica, Calif., leaving the future of Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) in the hands of the City Council.
The measure passed with 59% of voters saying “yes” with 90% of precincts reporting Tuesday. At the same time, voters rejected a separate measure — Measure D — that would have given control of the airport’s future to voters.
Advocacy groups donate to save SMO
Two of GA’s top advocacy groups, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) have contributed more than $540,000 to support a ballot measure in Santa Monica, Calif.,, that would halt efforts to shut down the city’s airport (SMO). According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, the campaign measure has raised about $824,000 as of Oct. 22, mostly from aviation-related interests, aircraft owners, businesses and pilots, including actor Harrison Ford, who stores his aircraft at the airport and donated $25,887.
Future of Santa Monica Airport on the November ballot
Two opposing measures to decide the future of Santa Monica Airport (SMO) in southern California will appear on the city ballot in November. The ballot is the latest weapon in what has become a contentious battle over the future of the airport.
Complaint filed to keep Santa Monica Airport open
The Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) has joined with aviation businesses, other GA organizations and individuals in a complaint filed with the FAA July 2 to ensure that Santa Monica Airport (SMO) remains open after 2015.
A battle GA must win
An in-depth story on AOPA.org about the embattled Santa Monica Airport in Southern California notes that its fate could have implications for airports across the country. The subject of a lawsuit by the city to close the airport, SMO “should be the cause célèbre of aviation interests to draw the proverbial line in the sand,” Richard Asper, an airport consultant, is quoted as saying in the story, adding it’s a fight the aviation community cannot afford to lose. “We have to make this one a public outcry.” Read the full story here.
AOPA calls lawsuit to close Santa Monica Airport meritless
Officials at the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) say a federal lawsuit filed Oct. 31 by the City of Santa Monica against the FAA lacks “any merit in law.”
In its lawsuit, the Santa Monica City Council asks the court to give the city clear title to the site of the Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO). The city also reportedly challenges as unconstitutional the airport land transfers that were made with obligations that, in part, require the city to operate the airport in perpetuity, AOPA officials noted.
“The City Council knows those obligations exist but are singularly focused on striking them down by whatever method they can find,” AOPA officials said in a prepared released. “In each such previous attempt, the city has lost the battle.”
“As a proponent of the airport and its value to AOPA members, the local communities, and the national transportation system, AOPA has spent hundreds of hours working to keep Santa Monica Airport open,” the release continued. “AOPA has researched the city’s legal claims over the years and has actively participated in litigation and in the public forum to strike down, time and time again, the city’s claims that the airport land is theirs to do with as they want.”
“It is abundantly clear that the claims made in the city’s lawsuit have no basis in fact,” said Ken Mead, AOPA general counsel. “The city’s argument is hardly a novel one, and it should be very clear by now to members of the Santa Monica City Council and opponents of the airport that the airport must remain in operation under its agreement with the federal government. That may be politically unpopular for a few council members, but it happens to be the law.”
Santa Monica’s City Council has long sought to restrict and even close the airport, due to noise complaints, though a recent survey of city residents by AOPA found that more than 70% wanted the airport to continue to operate. Most complaints are generated, apparently, by residents who do not live in the city of Santa Monica, according to AOPA officials.
In a statement, Santa Monica contended that it owns the airport land and that, during World War II, it worked with the federal government to “expand and improve the airport.” The statement notes that after the war, the “airport was returned to the city through an instrument of transfer. The federal government claims that the instrument of transfer obligates the city to operate the airport ‘in perpetuity’ or forfeit its ownership interest to the federal government. The city disputes this claim.”
Santa Monica Municipal Airport was founded in 1917 and it has a storied aviation history. In the early 1920s, it was the home of Douglas Aircraft Co., which built the first houses near the field for its employees. Since then it has become surrounded by industrial and office buildings, and more homes have been built near both ends of its single, 5,000-foot runway.
Though those homes were built long after the airport was established, homeowners complain about noise and exhaust from aircraft using the airport.
In a statement, City Manager Rod Gould said city officials have met with the FAA and, “proposed possibilities for changes, including operational changes.” Gould stated that, “The FAA representatives were polite and respectful. But, they were simply unwilling or unable to agree to any changes that could bring significant relief to airport neighbors. They believe that the city is legally obligated to continue operating the airport as it now operates and to keep operating it forever because of the post-war transfers.”
The FAA has offered options to the city to enhance safety at the airport but the city has flatly rejected them, AOPA officials said.
AOPA officials add that they agree with the FAA’s legal assessment of the airport’s status, which has been the subject of exhaustive review. Under a 1984 agreement with the FAA, many of the city’s leases at the airport expire in 2015. Airport opponents argue that the FAA’s obligation to the airport also expires at that time, which the FAA disputes.
The airport is home to about 267 aircraft, according to AOPA’s Airport Directory. But, more than that, “Santa Monica Airport is an integral part of the local economy, providing jobs and millions of dollars in annual revenue,” said Bill Dunn, AOPA’s vice president for airport advocacy. “The city benefits from the taxes on that revenue, not to mention the exorbitant landing fees that it has imposed. And the airport operates in the black. It has a long tradition of serving the community and providing local aviators with the freedom to fly and a great amount of previous legal research has already shown that it will continue to do so.”