August 11, 2014 -- Use of
quieter aircraft and accepting limitations on when flying can take
place could be requirements for flight schools and clubs to operate at
Santa Monica Airport. The City Council will consider these rules Tuesday
when it votes on new lease guidelines for businesses operating on the
City-owned property.
If these guidelines are approved, they could
be voided later this year depending on whether voters approve the
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association-backed measure in November. The
measure calls for voter approval to make most changes to the airport,
including any decisions made by the City Council since the measure was
officially proposed earlier this year.
City staff’s proposed
guidelines, based on recommendations from the City Council in March,
state that all flight schools will be given the opportunity to renew
their leases and new ones could come to the airport. But preference will
be given to those who agree to specific criteria.
“All flight
schools and flying clubs will be requested to use newer [types of]
aircraft that are quieter … or use Federal Aviation
Administration-approved noise reduction technologies in reducing their
noise footprint,” the proposed guidelines state.
They continue,
“All flight schools and flying clubs will be requested to avoid
performing pattern operations at Santa Monica Airport during weekends,
holidays and evening hours.”
Residents living near the airport
are concerned about the use of leaded fuel in the airplanes. Airport
Director Martin Pastucha wrote in the staff report that the request from
some community members to ban fuel sales on the property was not
feasible because “such action would most likely lead to litigation.”
Pastucha
wrote that the City could require fuel with reduced or no lead be
offered for sale, although these options are not widely available at
this time.
“Staff is currently in talks with fuel manufacturers
to determine the timeline of availability of these fuels,” Pastucha
wrote. “Once commercially available, fuel service providers at the
airport would be required to offer [fuel with reduced lead or no lead].”
The
leases for all restaurants and other businesses on the property will
expire by June 30, 2015. They could renew their leases for up to three
years (with longer periods being subject to council approval), according
to the proposed guidelines. Annual renewals after three years would be
possible.
“Rents, fees and charges on the airport shall reflect
fair market value for both aviation and non-aviation properties,” the
proposed guidelines state. “Fair market rents for individual buildings
on non-aviation airport properties and prevailing market rents for
aviation properties will be appraised in the as-is condition quantified
in the spring 2014 appraisal.”
Other features proposed are that
the City could add a charge to the rent based on a percentage of the
business’ sales, whole building leases could be subject to a Request for
Proposals process “intended to optimize leasehold occupancy and the
self-sustainability of the airport” and subleases would be prohibited
unless authorized by the City.
Also included in the guidelines are several environmental and other standards tenants must meet.
Pastucha
wrote, “The Guidelines identify programs that mitigate, as much as
possible, environmental impacts to the community and maintain the
viability of the Airport Fund (consisting of revenue collected through
tenants] ... while the legal constraints on the City’s authority to
control the airport and airport usage is resolved.”
- Source: http://www.surfsantamonica.com
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