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# Meeting of the big wigs
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/meeting-of-the-big-wigs/
- Published: 2008-02-06T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T18:20:35.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica Airport, #archive-import

*City officials travel to D.C. to discuss aiport*

CITY HALL City officials met face-to-face last week with high-ranking legislators in Washington, D.C. to discuss the future of the Santa Monica Airport, calling the meeting “fruitful” considering the influence wielded by those in attendance.

Mayor Pro Tem Richard Bloom, City Manager Lamont Ewell and city staff members had a roughly 45-minute conversation with three long-time lawmakers — Representatives Henry Waxman, D-Los Angeles, and Jane Harman, D-Venice, as well as Rep. James Oberstar, D-Grand Rapids, MI.

Oberstar is the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, which overseas funding for the Federal Aviation Administration and its safety programs, among other duties.

“The meeting was quite fruitful from the stand point that both Chairman Oberstar, Congressman Waxman and Congresswoman Harman were very, very receptive to the reality that our airport requires a meaningful runway safety solution,” Ewell said.

City officials have been negotiating with the FAA for roughly five years to come up with runway safety enhancements that will protect residents living within 300 feet of the airport from runway overruns. Residents in Sunset Park and Mar Vista have complained for years about the potential for massive casualties if a plane were to roll off the runway. The airport lacks proper buffers or runway safety areas and is surrounded by a dense suburban environment.

The City Council went so far as to ban larger, faster jet aircraft in November of last year, but have yet to hold a second reading, leaving residents in limbo. The ban would affect only those aircraft with approach speeds of more than 121 knots, which represent only 7 percent of total jet operations at the airport, city officials said. Other jets and piston-powered aircraft traveling at lesser speeds would still be allowed to use the airport.

City officials are hoping that the meeting with Oberstar, Waxman and Harman will lead to a permanent solution that protects residents. The FAA gave no indication during that meeting that they are going to change course and propose a new runway safety plan. The FAA’s current proposal has been deemed inadequate by city officials.

Officials with the FAA said they support installing 165-feet of collapsible concrete proven to stop jets traveling at certain speeds from going off the runway, but do not support any safety measures or policies that would limit the types of aircraft that are currently using the airport, which is considered by the FAA to be a reliever site for LAX.

In a sternly-worded letter from Kirk Shaffer, FAA’s associate administrator of airports, it is suggested that the ban is illegal and that the council should instead focus its efforts on working with the FAA to install safety enhancements and possibly purchase homes around the airport to create runway protection zones.

City Hall is the operator of the airport, however, it is limited in what it can do because of a 1984 agreement with the FAA that arose out of litigation. City attorneys believe the 1984 agreement and FAA orders allow City Hall to prohibit or limit any type of aircraft in the interest of public safety.

Ewell said Chairman Oberstar is taking a closer look at the airport and is planning to come back soon with a list of recommendations.

“The congress members all expressed their commitment to working toward a solution,” Ewell said. “We want to take advantage of all three congresspersons assisting, but I think conversely, the council wants to know there is a specific time frame … and not keep this open ended. It’s been over five years now and everyone is frustrated.”

Residents in Sunset Park and Mar Vista said City Hall shouldn’t wait any longer and instead move forward with the second reading of the jet ban.

“I knew they were having the meeting. I wasn’t holding my breath,” Susan Hartley, a Santa Monica Airport Commissioner and a resident of Sunset Park, said on Tuesday. “I really don’t know what’s been accomplished. The day to day operation of the airport remains the same. I’m for the city doing the second reading and getting on with things.

“Every time I heard a jet land, I wonder if this is going to be the one, and I’m not exaggerating,” Hartley said.

Ewell said the issue has never received the type of attention that it is now getting from legislators in Washington and he believes City Hall’s efforts to arrange the meeting are “indicative of the fact that the city takes this very seriously and we understand the concerns of our community and the Mar Vista community as well.”

“We are being very aggressive and (want to) reach a reasonable conclusion,” Ewell said.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 6, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/020608.pdf?ref=smdp.com)