> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Jetting off to sustainability at SM Airport - URL: https://www.smdp.com/jetting-off-to-sustainability-at-sm-airport/ - Published: 2006-11-29T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T23:11:07.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Environment, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import *The initiative helps tackle community outreach issues* SANTA MONICA AIRPORT — In a city where residents and officials oftentimes strive to save the world, a landmark general aviation airport here could be the first in the country to help the environment in its own right. In keeping with the city’s continuous efforts to make Santa Monica a sustainable city, Santa Monica Airport management, along with the city’s Environmental Program and Public Works staff, are currently drafting a sustainable initiative for the airport. If adopted by City Council next year, Santa Monica Airport would be the first general aviation airport in the country with a sustainable plan and policy, according to an airport staff report presented to the Airport Commission on Monday. “Since we’re a facility within the city of Santa Monica, we feel it is appropriate for us to act accordingly \[with the city’s sustainability plan\] and become as environmentally responsible as we can,” said Airport Director Robert Trimborn on Tuesday. The initiative is guided by the principles outlined in the Santa Monica Sustainable City Program and the airport’s current programs. Santa Monica’s Sustainable City Program was established in 1994, making it the first community in the country to develop such a coordinated plan, said Shannon Parry, the sustainable city coordinator. “A sustainable city plan means we come up with coordinated strategies to address issues ranging from resource conservation to environmental public health, from economic development to human dignity,” Parry said on Tuesday. The city recently received high marks on its second annual “Sustainable City Report Card,” with good grades in areas such as environmental health and human dignity. The one-page draft of the airport initiative is intended to implement new policies and programs that would make the airport environmentally sustainable, doing so by addressing 12 different areas: water, urban runoff, open space, hazardous materials, construction practices, air quality, noise, energy, transportation, solid waste, public participation, and advocacy. Within each category is a sub-list of measures that the airport staff could undertake in order to ensure sustainability in the given areas. For example, under solid waste, the draft states that the airport will strive to achieve an overall 80 percent diversion rate by 2010 through the creation of waste reduction and waste recycling requirements. STAYING IN THE LOOP Because of the airport’s strained relationship with neighbors over noise and safety issues, the initiative addresses community outreach and promotes education with residents and community groups to keep them in the loop in regards to airport activities. “The Santa Monica Airport sustainability initiative is really meant to build upon the city’s existing programs and policies that we use to make all of Santa Monica a sustainable city and utilize those successes to create policies and programs... to make Santa Monica Airport one of the most environmentally sustainable general aviation airports in the country,” Parry said. Still in its “embryonic stages,” the draft has been presented to both the Environmental Task Force and the Airport Commission for their consideration. If the plan receives support from the Airport Commission, a recommendation for adoption will be forwarded to the City Council, according to Trimborn. Thus far, the plan has received little input from the community. Members of the Friends of Sunset Park Airport Committee, a subcommittee of community group Friends of Sunset Park, is trying to convince officials to add language in the initiative that would address traffic, safety and environmental issues caused by the airport. “There is already a large traffic issue at the intersections and perimeter of the airport,” said Cathy Larson, chairwoman of the Friends of Sunset Park Airport Committee. But the main issue concerns airplane emissions, which the committee wants the initiative to aggressively tackle, Larson said. In its current form, the initiative does address the issue of air quality and aims to reduce emissions by adopting measures including advocating for stricter federal regulations, collaborating with the South Coast Air Quality Management District to collect data on air quality caused by the airport and using alternative fuel vehicles. The Friends of Sunset Park Airport Committee is also concerned about the impact of noise on neighbors, though Santa Monica Airport already has regulations on the noise of airplanes departing from and arriving to the airport. The initiative would address the noise issue by exploring ways to enforce stricter noise regulations. Santa Monica Airport management has worked towards creating a sustainable environment for quite some time. Almost every airport vehicle runs off alternative fuels. In addition, a park that would improve percolation for stormwater and rainwater into the ground is currently in the works, Trimborn said. “We’re trying to bring this whole thing together for a sustainable plan,” he said. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 29, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/112906.pdf?ref=smdp.com)