By Fabian Lewkowicz RARE AIR: Residents would prefer if more propeller planes used the Santa Monica Airport as opposed to the many jets that use the facility currently.
“THE SANTA MONICA AIRPORT DATES back before WWII and played a major role in the U.S. winning that war due to the Douglas Aircraft Company using Santa Monica Airport to launch their manufactured aircraft into the war zone. The brave pilots who flew those aircraft played a valiant role in the defeat of the enemies of the US and its allied forces. After the war, came the residential developers who were well aware of the airport’s location who still constructed what are now multi-million dollar homes at the east and west base of the take off and landing pattern of the airports. The individuals who purchased those homes were also aware of the location of the airport. Yes, there is a danger to any city that has aircraft flying overhead. Still, most crashes occur upon take off do to engine failure. Crashes upon landing are often due to pilot error. These crashes are far and few apart. I wish I could say the same regarding deadly automobile crashes that take the lives of motorists on a daily basis. The definition of commodity is something that is of use or is valuable, an article of trade or commerce. No one can argue about the value of the airport. The land alone is worth millions of dollars.
Trust me folks, the developers of condominiums have their eyes out for another location to develop another playa vista. If such a building project was allowed, my response would be ‘ouch, ouch.’”
“SANTA MONICA AIRPORT HAS BECOME a greater burden in the 10 years we have lived close by. It is now often an assault on me and my family inside our four walls. Noise, stink and who knows what health hazards. In a five-unit condo unit facing the airport, two people have cancer. I also think of my cousin in the LAPD watching LAX remove housing where airplanes took off. This was over 25 years ago. The FCC and the Santa Monica Airport don’t seem even concerned with what could happen in one of their planes — especially a heavier jet — should fail to take off properly. Close it, we need another green park.”
“HERE IS YET ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF “don’t bother me” leadership. Like overbuilding, we have too many jets in this town. Charge a larger fee for millionaire jet users. Establish a more efficient control system to allow quicker takeoffs. Maybe a strict time limit for taxi-ing jets with fines for either the owner or the city control system. Keeping in mind that the weather is all-important to flying, otherwise maybe have reduced take off during hot and still weather conditions, and spacing out take off and landing times. The FAA will never allow Santa Monica Airport to close down. If there is an emergency such as a terrorist attack, or a natural disaster, or the government gets tired of paying lip-service to democracy, they will need the airport to send troops and supplies in order to protect the Santa Monica Council.”
“WELL, WE KNOW IT’S A SAFETY hazard, there’s been plenty published about that. It’s a traffic nuisance, we all have to drive around it, so that’s for sure. What about a valuable commodity? How about, economically, does it benefit the city? I can’t imagine the paltry landing fees are profitable economically as what could be done with the land. It’s an aesthetic nightmare, just a piece of asphalt occupying half of Sunset Park. How about the environment? Well, it pollutes the environment with noise and toxic fumes. So it doesn’t really affect the health and well-being of our citizens very well. Finally, who does it cater to, citizens or people outside of the city of Santa Monica? Well, I can’t imagine many citizens flying private jets out of Santa Monica Airport, so it’s clearly benefiting outside the city more than the inside. But you know, it must be a valuable commodity or else our great politicians would have found a higher and better use for the land by this point”.
“THE SANTA MONICA AIRPORT HAS become a nuisance and a hazard. It was never designed for the size and frequency of the jets using it. Its runways have no over-run areas, which is a violation of the FAA’s own regulations. Jets like those that use the Santa Monica airport have recently over run airports in Santa Barbara and in Conway, Arkansas. In Santa Barbara no harm was done because the airport did have an over-run safety area. But in Conway, two people were killed when the jet plane went through the end of the runway chain link fence and smashed into a house”
“I HAVE RESIDED IN SUNSET PARK for the past 58 years, and the Santa Monica Airport has never interfered with my quality of life. I can remember when the Douglas facility located on the airport paid more than one half of the property taxes in the city. The planes taking off have to meet a stringent noise level, and although I live less than a mile from the airport and just two blocks north of the traffic pattern, I have never experienced jet fumes from the jets. The airport is an important economic asset in the city, and in the event of a national or local emergency, it is an essential asset. Please believe that.”
“THE AIRPORT HAS BEEN HERE SINCE before the complaining neighbors. However, it was built for planes, not jets. If a jet crashes in our town it will be a horrible catastrophe.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 7, 2007. Read the original PDF.