City officials to file opening brief on appeal next month
SACRAMENTO City Hall is getting some moral support from state elected officials in its battle to rid the fastest aircraft from Santa Monica Airport.
The state Assembly Committee on Transportation unanimously approved on Monday a resolution encouraging the FAA to honor City Hall’s decision to ban categories C and D jets from the airport. The resolution — AJR 37 — will head to the assembly floor in the next few weeks.
The resolution comes in the midst of ongoing legal battles between City Hall and the FAA over enforcement of the ban.
Authored by state Assemblyman Ted Lieu, D-Torrance, the resolution also asks the FAA to review flight operations at the Westside airport where jet traffic has reportedly increased from approximately 1,000 flights to more than 18,000 since 1983.
City Council passed an ordinance outlawing categories C and D jets — aircraft that approach the runway at 121-140 knots and 141-165 knots, respectively — in March after discussions with the FAA over runway safety measures fell through.
The resolution is meant to let city officials know that the state legislature is in support of its actions, Lieu, whose district includes the community to the east of the runway, said.
“We know that in terms of safety and in terms of pollution something needs to be done and the FAA continues to have this mantra of no change whatsoever,” Lieu said.
The FAA is maintaining that City Hall does not have the authority to institute the ban.
“If a plane can safely land on a runway with a specific length, based on that plane’s performance characteristics, we have no authority to tell a pilot that he can’t land there,” FAA spokesman Ian Gregor said. “As we explained in our court filings, the city of Santa Monica also doesn’t have the legal authority to ban aircraft from the municipal airport.”
While it would not legally obligate the FAA to respect the ordinance, the resolution came as good news to City Hall and local advocates, glad to receive as much high-level support as possible.
“It’s positive to have all levels of government on the same page regarding safety,” Kate Vernez, assistant to the city manager on government relations, said.
City officials plan to request several technical amendments to the resolution, including changing the identification of SMO as the Santa Monica General Aviation Airport to the Santa Monica Municipal Airport, which shows that City Hall is a proprietor, Vernez said.
Runway safety has long been an issue at the airport where homes are situated less than 300 feet from both ends of the runway.
“It’s a recognition of the importance of this safety issue,” Brian Bland, a member of neighborhood group the Friends of Sunset Park, said. “One would hope that the FAA would realize that this is a serious safety issue and would look beyond their tendency to put the interest of a relatively small segment of aviation ahead of safety concerns of our city.”
The FAA has presented several proposals in the past, including an option to install at 70-knot Emergency Material Arresting System that would be designed to stop roughly 97 percent of operations at the airport, including 90 percent of categories C and D. The enhanced safety measures would consume more runway than the 40-knot EMAS, which the FAA previously proposed.
The ordinance was set to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on April 24 but was suspended that day after the FAA filed a temporary restraining order, which was later granted by a U.S. District Court judge. The order continued when the judge issued a preliminary injunction until the final results of the FAA internal review. The initial results of the review were released last month.
A hearing officer was recently appointed to handle City Hall’s administrative hearing on the FAA internal review. A hearing would most likely be scheduled for later this summer, according to Deputy City Attorney Martin Tachiki.
City Hall also filed an appeal to the preliminary injunction in May. An opening brief is expected to be filed in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco on July 2.
The resolution received support from groups like the Concerned Residents About Airport Pollution, which has lobbied airport officials to cut down on jet activity because of toxic emissions.
But the group’s backing of the resolution has nothing to do with airport pollution, according to CRAAP Director Martin Rubin.
“This is a necessary safety issue that is long overdue for being addressed,” Rubin said. “Yet we will continue to lobby for addressing the airport pollution issue that is so critical to the quality of life and health of the people close to the airport.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 25, 2008. Read the original PDF.