Aviation International News is reporting that the FAA has reacted to the city of Santa Monica’s plan to close Santa Monica Airport (SMO) in 2018.
In a letter sent to mayor Tony Vazquez, FAA director of airport compliance and management analysis Kevin Willis reminded the mayor that under a recent Part 16 decision, “the city is required to continue to operate the airport for public use on reasonable terms and without unjust discrimination.”
At a city council meeting last week, members voted unanimously to close the airport by July 1, 2018, along with several moves that appear to be designed to discourage pilots from using the airport, including: Applying to the FAA to remove 2,000 feet from the existing 4,973-foot runway, rigorously enforcing the noise ordinance, changing hangar leases to permits, eliminating leaded fuel sales and enhancing airport security.
In a recent move, the city has asked tiedown tenants to sign a new lease that includes a 24-hour cancellation clause. Airport tenants have been limited to 30-day leases.
Read the full story here.
I’m no lawyer, but can’t the FAA petition the courts to issue an immediate cease and desist order to the City while the pending more severe action is being formulated?
Surely the airport tenants and business must have SOME kind of rights including refusing to sign the unreasonable rent agreements without fear of reprisal.
The city can play all the games they want…like the coming take-down of Sanctuary Cities California is not a separate country and they MUST play by the rules too.
Just a reminder they are spending the people’s money & are using it like a well that will not dry up. Like the old joke I can spend your money better than you can.
i Just got a new lease to sign and return for my tiedown spot at KSMO. The language I’m asked to consent to makes it clear that I am to accept the city is the master of the airport and I can be evicted at any time with no notice. I note also, the city has thrown out a large number of planes and fenced off a great deal of the airplane parking facilities and they are trying to force the FBO’s, Flight schools and Fuel Sales companies out of business, all while claiming they will take over all leasing and provision of fuel, which one would assume is just a lie. When will the Feds get some teeth and stop this strangulation of one of California’s true gems? The city have not conducted themselves well and I’m sure they will say anything to get their way.
I can not believe how much money the city of Santa Monica has been wasting on this! It baffles the mind. I would assume that the 2000ft they want to close will have to remain in use at least up to 2023
This reminds me of the destruction of Megs Field in Chicago. So look out Santa Monica so this won’t happen to you.
Me too, I am surprised that the bulldozers have not already been at work rendering the airport safe for the city..
These remarks are ‘preaching to the choir’ – the best place is in Santa Monica newspapers since they cover the SMO issues.
Here is a letter that is published in the Santa Monica Daily Press (not from me) that is interesting:
By Guest Author on September 1, 2016 in Letters
letter art
Editor:
Regarding airport closure, the FAA holds a trump card. It has authority to condemn land under eminent domain proceedings for airport use or expansion. This means the FAA can force the city to sell the land for “just compensation” (an amount likely to be decided in federal court, and not necessarily pleasing to the city).
Federal condemnation powers extend over state and city owned property. According to Wikipedia, “In United States v. Carmack, 329 U.S. 230 (1946), the Supreme Court of the United States upheld the federal government’s eminent domain powers under the Condemnation Act and further upheld the government’s right to exercise eminent domain over land containing buildings owned by a state or local government.”
Has Santa Monica’s city council studied the likelihood of FAA condemnation proceedings? Naturally, this city council would challenge the FAA in federal court. But because Santa Monica Airport is part of the regional transportation hub, serving the needs of more people (not just pilots) than the small minority inconvenienced by its presence, the FAA should have a strong legal case for condemnation.
Thomas M. Sipos
Santa Monica
As a footnote, the basis for the city’s claim is that the perpetuity clause covers only 3,000 feet of runway. I go to Reid Hillview Airport (KRHV) and it is 3,000 feet exactly, and is capable of accommodating piston and turboprops. Perhaps KSMO will remain in operation but as a shorter runway ?????
Santa Monica Airport is a great place to go more often except for the City Hall’s shenanigan’s such charging a landing fee that can only be paid for by credit card and only thru the mail. Well, I don’t use a credit card, I pay cash. The city government does not need to know my address.
Besides, how much time and effort are they putting into this. Or are they hiring a outside company with only profits in mind and who knows how they obtain and distribute your personal information.
The place is being run by bunch of No-Good Self Serving Knuckleheads with More Money than Brains. So much for public service and trust. They are not serving the public, but only themselves. Remember the city of Bell fiasco ? City of Beaumont ? It really makes you wonder where elected officials and their subordinates come up with this garbage.
Like someone else stated. No city, county or any other quasi- public official nor there families and friends should be allowed to do anything within the city nor should they be allowed to live there. How about that for fairness.
As I was reading this piece I also concluded, let’s get this over by seizing the airport through eniment domain for the public good. The government has done this before with less justification.
OK, you guys hate aviation so much, here’s what we’ll do. Effective immediately, every city politician, representative or functionary – without exception – and their families – is banned from all commercial or private flights to or from anywhere, for any reason, for life. No Medivac helicopters will operate within city limits. No UPS or FedEx second day or next day air deliveries will be made to any Santa Monica zip code. No Priority Mail service will be provided in Santa Monica. The new motto will be “If it goes by air, it can’t get there.”
The City of Santa Monica will henceforth be declared an aviation “dead zone” and nothing that so much as touches any aviation service anywhere will be allowed in or out of the city. This quarantine will be enforced by the TSA, and the city will pay all the expenses incurred plus a 20% administrative fee plus such penalties as are deemed appropriate, in their sole judgement, by the FAA. Any items which have been transported by air to neighboring areas and are being “smuggled” into Santa Monica in an attempt to evade this quarantine will be seized and destroyed. The smugglers will face federal felony charges and will be held indefinitely without bail.
The City of Santa Monica must repay every cent – with interest computed at 29.9%, compounded annually – that the FAA has *ever* put into the airport, plus imputed administration fees and “soft” costs all the way back to five years before the airport became operational. This accounting will be done by the FAA and cannot be appealed. These funds must be paid by certified check drawn on a US bank within three calendar days of the closure of the airport, and in the event of default by the city, all assets of the city, buildings, vehicles, parks, land, etc. will be immediately seized by the FAA and auctioned off to the highest bidder. (Any persons associated with the Santa Monica city government are not eligible to bid.) In the event that the proceeds of the auction are insufficient to repay the FAA, all personal assets of all elected and appointed officials shall be seized and auctioned as well. This will include (but not limited to) their homes, vehicles, bank accounts, 401Ks, pensions, and Social Security payments.
Until the above amounts are paid in full, and for a period of five years thereafter, all Federal licenses and certificates issued to anyone connected to the Santa Monica political structure will be permanently revoked. This will include security clearances, any EPA permits and certifications, FCC radio licenses, federal banking licenses, firearms permits of any kind, import/export licenses, and so forth. After a period of ten years has elapsed, the holders of such licenses and permits may re-apply for them as though they are new applicants. Nothing will be automatically reinstated. No acting city politician will be allowed to hold or apply for any federal permit or license of any kind.
Since the airport is closed, the land will be available for other uses. One quarter of the land will be used for a nuclear waste storage and reprocessing facility, one quarter of the land will be used as an open-air pig farm, one quarter of the land shall be used for the new North Korean embassy and compound (they will provide their own security, chargeable to the city), and the last quarter will be used as a minimum security prison for the violently criminally insane. No property or ad valorem taxes will be due or paid to the city on any of the above referenced real property, nor will any permits or licenses be required, and inspections by the city will not be allowed.
Complaints regarding the above will be disregarded, remember that we are showing you the same consideration and the same respect for your civil, legal and property rights that you have already shown the aviation businesses and aircraft owners based at the Santa Monica airport.
Plan B: Do the math and you will discover that an active, operating airport is a HUGE economic asset to any city. Airports attract businesses, which hire people, who buy homes, and they pay (lots of) property taxes on those homes. Closing the airport is like closing the interstate highway – it achieves nothing but a guarantee of long-term economic stagnation and decline.
Close the airport and you will lose many current businesses and almost every future business considering your area. Losing businesses means losing jobs, losing jobs means anyone who can will move out, property values and your tax receipts will decline, urban decay will set in, crime will rise . . . you simply cannot afford to chase away businesses – these are the economic drivers of your tax base, which pays for police and fire protection and your salaries. Be absolutely assured there are PLENTY of other communities in California and throughout the rest of the country who would be simply overjoyed to have these businesses and these jobs you will be driving off. Many of them have economic development departments who are specifically paid to poach your businesses, and by closing your airport, you are handing them your best economic activities on a silver platter.
Choose carefully, grasshopper . . . you haven’t so far.
Wow!!!
Your comment about the tax base got me thinking. I suppose from the city council’s point of view, the economic value of the land is not maximized by the airport. From the looks of a Google map, the airport re-developable property (i.e., not including the existing parks) is roughly 5,000′ x 1,000′, or 5 million sq ft. A quick property search shows that most Santa Monica lots are worth at least $1m. For example there is a 7,500 sq ft residential lot for sale for $1.9m roughly one mile north of the airport. At that rate the airport’s gross land value could be more than $1 billion. Then on top of that, the future commercial tenants are likely to pay insanely high property taxes and could employ thousands of people. From a strictly economic standpoint, that could dwarf the current airport revenue.
“Your comment about the tax base got me thinking. I suppose from the city council’s point of view, the economic value of the land is not maximized by the airport. From the looks of a Google map, the airport re-developable property (i.e., not including the existing parks) is roughly 5,000′ x 1,000′, or 5 million sq ft. A quick property search shows that most Santa Monica lots are worth at least $1m. For example there is a 7,500 sq ft residential lot for sale for $1.9m roughly one mile north of the airport. At that rate the airport’s gross land value could be more than $1 billion. Then on top of that, the future commercial tenants are likely to pay insanely high property taxes and could employ thousands of people. From a strictly economic standpoint, that could dwarf the current airport revenue.”
Okay, now calculate the resale value of all the highways in Santa Monica. Are they going to close them too?
If the FAA – or some branch of the Federal government – does not retake ownership of the airport, it will close. The Feds could take it through eminent domain, or they could very likely retake ownership under the terms of the original agreement with the city.
No-one is talking about this.
SMO is critical regional infrastructure for emergency services. When the Northridge Quake needed emergency response, SMO was the location. It should be allowed to remain operative.
I grow annoyed at the city council and local media in their agitation for closure since the replacement will not be a park, but will be a densely developed mixed-use area of apartments, movie theaters, restaurants and high rise offices, and the traffic and air pollution will be greater than anyone imagines.
Studies for ElToro Airport showed that airports are good neighbors. Despite erroneous claims from SMO area residents, airports are mainly open space and have little noise and air pollution (relative to their size and mixed use development).
I read resident’s use of a traffic noise study so I read the study, and it actually showed that the west side of the perimiter road had a very low air pollution count while the east side had a high air pollution count, showing that the air is not damaged by aircraft but by the vehicle traffic that uses the perimiter road. The ‘lying with statistics’ practice by anti-airport folk is leading others to be anti-airport, so an HONEST debate would be helpful.