By Bill Worden President Emeritus, The Air Care Alliance Venice
Mrs. Ho in her letter (“Why we complain about the airport,” April 24) states that there is a common misconception about the Santa Monica Municipal Airport. I couldn’t agree more fully. In fact, there are many misconceptions about the airport, as her letter amply confirms. Of course there were homes near the airport from the earliest days, but not many, since the airport, the oldest continuously operating in Los Angeles County, has been around since 1915 when most of this area was agricultural. Still, I feel confident in alleging that there is not a single homeowner anywhere near that was unaware of the airport’s existence when they purchased the homes they live in now. So what? If anything, this shows that housing and aviation have a long history of compatibility in Santa Monica. The fact is that aviation has played a major role in building Santa Monica and continues to build the city’s wealth today.
Our big task, as citizens of the 21st Century, is to make intelligent decisions about the allocation of our resources and to combine our assets in creative and mutually beneficial ways. Yes, of course there is pollution around the airport — both noise and chemical. The question is: How much? How much in comparison to other sources of pollution in our community and balanced against what benefits? Santa Monica Airport is a major asset not only to its host city, but to all of Southern California. We all share the prosperity it brings. There is not a single citizen that does not derive some benefit from having this facility. Ask any of the people that have been flown free of charge by Angel Flight pilots to get urgent medical care. This doesn’t imply that those people who have chosen to live in the airport neighborhoods don’t have a right to have their concerns addressed. It does mean that those needs should be quantified and assessed and weighed in a rational manner against myriad other concerns and put in perspective.
Safety is always a concern, but it is important to remember that airports are not unusually dangerous places. Has anyone in Santa Monica ever had homeowner’s or life insurance rates raised because they live near the airport? No, because experience doesn’t support a perception of elevated risk. Still it is incumbent on all of us to assure that what can be done, is done, in a timely manner. The physical structure of the airport must change to accommodate the changing demands of modern aircraft. The city and the FAA and concerned pilots and other citizens have worked together for decades to address such issues and continue to do so.
Santa Monica Airport has been in the vanguard when it comes to addressing community concerns, and, in fact, is a national leader in mitigating noise pollution. Certainly, things have changed mightily since the airport was founded, who would deny it? But we cannot go back. This airport is needed as never before and the challenge is not to point out what our fathers failed to anticipate, but to make 20th Century infrastructure meet our 21st Century needs.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 26, 2007. Read the original PDF.