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# City files brief in opposition to injunction
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/city-files-brief-in-opposition-to-injunction/
- Published: 2008-06-11T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-25T00:14:50.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

*City Hall plans to request hearing on ban*

The Federal Aviation Administration acted illegally when it issued an interim cease-and-desist order to stop a jet ban at Santa Monica Airport from taking effect, according to a brief filed by City Hall on Monday.

Submitted to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, the brief was written to bolster the city’s request to reverse a preliminary injunction that allows the continued operation of the fastest jets at SMO.

“We reemphasized the fact that we don’t believe the FAA has allowed their own procedure and shouldn’t have been able to grant the interim cease-and-desist order,” Deputy City Attorney Martin Tachiki said.

City Hall argues that the interim cease-and-desist order should’ve been issued following the completion of the agency’s administrative review, not before or during the process. The initial results of the review were released at the end of May, concluding that the ban on categories C and D jets was not lawful. The order was also issued without a hearing, to which City Hall, as the airport’s proprietor, is legally entitled to in order to protect public safety, the motion states.

“It usually comes at the end of the administrative process and we’re at the beginning,” Tachiki said.

The FAA disagreed with City Hall’s assessment.

“From the start we’ve been constant in our legal position,” Ian Gregor, the agency’s spokesman said.

The City Council adopted the ban on 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.

Runway safety has long been a concern for residents around the airport, SMO geographically unique in that there are homes within 300 feet of both ends of the runway.

The FAA has presented several proposals in the past, including an option to install a 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. Both options were rejected by the council as insufficient.

The ban was set to go into effect at 12:01 a.m. on April 24 but was suspended later that day after the FAA filed a temporary restraining order, which was granted. The order continued when a U.S. District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction until the final results of the FAA review.

City Hall plans to request an administrative hearing for the FAA determination.

The FAA will have 10 days from the request to issue and serve a hearing order.

Jump hedline: City Hall plans to request hearing for airport jet ban

Suggested pullquote: “It usually comes at the end of the administrative process and we’re at the beginning.”

Martin Tachiki

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 11, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/061108.pdf?ref=smdp.com)