Closing SM Airport may strain regional air traffic
(Editor’s note: This is the second installment of a two-part series examining the role the airport has played in the city. Today, where the airport may be headed.) The only thing that is certain about the future of Santa Monica Airport is that it’s uncertain.
According to a 1984 agreement with the Federal Aviation Administration, the city has to maintain and operate the airport until 2015. After that, all the city’s commercial leases and grant requirements expire. Legally, Santa Monica could close its airfield when the agreement ends.
“When the time expires and if they have not engaged in any grant agreements they have the right to do whatever they see fit with their airport,” said Jerry Snyder, an FAA spokesman. “It’s their airport, why shouldn’t they be able to close it if it’s theirs?”
“When the time expires and if they have not engaged in any grant agreements they have the right to do whatever they see fit with their airport.” — — JERRY SNYDER FAA spokesman
Santa Monica has made it a practice not to accept grant money or enter into leases that would require the airport to stay open longer than the 2015 deadline.
“We want to maintain flexibility when it comes time to decide how to deal with the airport,” said Deputy City Attorney Marty Tachiki. “We want the council at that time to have as many options as possible.”
Formed in 1923 by the Army to help train its young fleet of pilots and manufacture biplanes, the airport grew under Donald Douglas’ aircraft plant into the economic and social heart of Santa Monica in less than 20 years.
As Douglas moved its airplane production to larger airports, the city’s attachment to the airport waned. A study conducted by the city in the late 1970s revealed the airport had become an economic and social drain on Santa Monica’s resources.
In 1981, citing the results of the survey, the city council voted to close the airport as soon as it was legally possible.
The FAA sued Santa Monica to prevent it from closing the airfield. In 1984, an agreement was struck that has spurred the airport’s development. It also outlined the rights of the city to take action regarding the airport’s impact on nearby residential neighborhoods.
In exchange for promising to maintain and keep the airport open until 2015, Santa Monica was allowed to create a noise ordinance for planes, instate curfews for flying into and out of the airport, restrict helicopters, and use a significant portion of the airport’s land for non-aviation uses.
However, the agreement hasn’t appeased nearby residents, who have sued the city over what they say are negative impacts the airport has on their quality of life and land values.
Several local neighborhood groups have attracted large memberships and become politically powerful because of their opposition to the airport.
Many critics believe when the city’s obligations to keep the airport open expire, the facility will be shut down, or so they hope.
It’s certainly on the minds of elected officials. The city council has instructed its planning staff to begin investigating what choices the city will have in 2015, and if closing the airport is an option.
“I’m not saying whether closing the airport or keeping it open is a good or a bad thing, but the council stated in its budget priorities this year that we need to start thinking about what options will be available,” said Councilman Ken Genser. “We need to do some thinking and come to some decisions about what we want to do over the next several years.”
“We need to do some thinking and come to some decisions about what we want to do over the next several years.” — — KEN GENSER City Councilman
City staff members are working on a new masterplan for the airport, which would guide future development on the 225-acre site. The document would outline what could eventually become of Santa Monica Airport.
However, the process is complicated by a number of factors, including fallout from the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Plans to expand Los Angeles International Airport and the increasing congestion of commercial air traffic over Southern California skies also play a role in determining Santa Monica Airport’s fate.
“Since post-9/11 times the whole aviation industry has changed, and we are a part of that change,” Tachiki said. “We are probably going to be pulled along by forces of the industry.”
Officials note that the skies over Southern California are clogged with airplane traffic — even general aviation airports like Santa Monica’s are feeling the strain.
“This is among the top areas of air traffic congestion, that is true,” Snyder said. “And it’s all controlled by the busiest terminal approach control facility in the U.S. “(Santa Monica Airport) is an important airport for the region here as all airports are,” he added. “But we can’t afford to lose any of our airports.”
Reports indicate the skies are likely to become even more congested in the near future. LAX is planing an ambitious renovation that could have a serious impact on Santa Monica Airport’s operations.
“Unless someone finds a way to increase the capacity of general aviation airports, the FAA is going to have to keep as many of them going as possible,” Tachiki said.
A report conducted by the Santa Monica Airport administration released in September indicates the expansion will force Santa Monica to absorb some of the air traffic.
“LAX is still a primary site for business jet activity,” the report states. “Dislocation of that traffic and services would shift to other area airports.”
A tentative LAX plan released by L.A. Mayor Jim Hahn offers a major disincen-tive to business jet traffic, Santa Monica Airport officials said.
Officials believe since Santa Monica Airport is only seven miles away from LAX it might be confronted with a significant amount of business jets taking off and landing here.
However, Tom Winfrey, an LAX spokesman, discounted that notion because general aviation aircraft make up less than 3 percent of the total traffic at the international airport, which in 2000 handled 67 million passengers and processed 2.1 million tons of cargo.
Besides, Winfrey said, Van Nuys Airport has been designated to handle the overflow traffic from LAX.
“Our percentage of (general aviation) traffic is very small,” Winfrey said. “I don’t think it would have a very big effect.”
City officials said they would continue to closely monitor LAX’s expansion plans.
“Depending on how they use their runways, it could also limit our air space,” Genser said. “We want to make sure whatever happens is also best for our community.”
Snyder said any shift in business jet traffic patterns would cause strain on other airports in the region, though he said the FAA is not sure if other airports could-n’t handle more activity.
“We can’t characterize that additional burden as being over burdened,” he said. “We don’t have any info to back up a statement like that.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 23, 2002. Read the original PDF.