March 23, 2023 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

Ted Lieu, Karen Bass Suggest Facilitating Meeting Between City, FAA In Washington, D.C.:

Editor’s Note: This is a letter dated March 24, 2015 from Congressman Ted Lieu (33rd District) and Congresswoman Karen Bass (37th District) to Santa Monica Mayor Kevin McKeown and the Santa Monica City Council regarding the future of Santa Monica Airport.

Dear Mayor McKeown and City Councilmembers:

As Members of Congress for California’s 33rd and 37th Congressional Districts, we represent constituents living directly adjacent to the Santa Monica Airport (SMO). Over the years, we have met with neighborhood groups and individuals near and around SMO, and we are deeply troubled by the effects that operations at the airport are having on our constituents. As you know, Santa Monica voters expressed their disapproval of the airport by emphatically rejecting Measure D to keep the airport open, despite massive corporate spending in support of that measure.

Aircraft departing from SMO are less than 300 feet from residences. Concerned constituents are directly impacted by environmental and health effects arising from airport operations given SMO’s close proximity to residential areas, including homes, schools and public parks. For decades, homeowners have complained about the odors, excessive noise, and emissions throughout their neighborhoods and within their homes. Further, SMO operations have been linked by scientific evidence to elevated ultrafine particulate concentrations and lead in nearby neighborhoods, including school yards near the Airport.

Additionally, our constituents have been very concerned about the safety risks that accompany the dramatic increase in aircraft operations in the last two decades. Since 1989, 11 airplanes coming and going from Santa Monica have been involved in crashes, including a crash a few weeks ago. On September 29, 2013, a small plane crashed into a hangar at the airport, bursting into flames and collapsing the building.

Based on the ongoing pollution and lead concerns, as well as the recent plane crashes, we have concluded that the current operations of the airport present a danger to the health and safety of surrounding residents. We support the City Council and the residents of Santa Monica and Los Angeles in taking action to remedy this situation. Towards that end, we oppose any extension of the 1984 agreement between the City and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for part of the runway, and we oppose any extension of 3-year leases to jet aviation tenants.

If the Council so chooses, we also can use our positions as Members of Congress to facilitate a meeting in Washington, D.C. between the City and members of the community with the FAA.

We also endorse the 7-point Community Plan developed jointly by residents of Santa Monica and Los Angeles, together with the Santa Monica Airport Commission, and this City Council.

These include:

1. All aviation and non-aviation leases on Airport land will be allowed to convert to month-to-month tenancies. Recommended by the Airport Commission in February 2015-1 Leasing Guidelines.

2. All rental rates for month-to-month leases will be adjusted to current Santa Monica commercial market rates to eliminate subsidies. Recommended by the Airport Commission in February 2015-1 Leasing Guidelines.

3. Eliminate Airport tenancies that are incompatible with neighboring residential land uses by December 31, 2015. Recommended by the Airport Commission in April 2013 SMAC Recommendation 2013-1.

4. Eliminate all types of fuel sales at the Airport. Recommended by the Airport Commission in April 2013 SMAC Recommendation 2013-1.

5. “Permanently close to aviation use” and “no new development” for the Non-Aviation Parcel and the Western Parcel. Implements Measure LC, which was adopted by public ballot on November 4, 2014 and amends the City Charter.

6. Begin to develop land use concept plans, with full public participation, for the future use of the Airport land. Adopted by the City Council on March 25, 2015.

7. Commence Phase 1 environmental assessment and remediation process. Adopted by the City Council on March 25, 2015.

Thank you for this opportunity to share our views and we look forward to continuing to work with the Council and the residents in our respective Congressional Districts.

Ted Lieu, Karen Bass

Members of Congress

in Opinion
Related Posts

Column: SB 9 Ended R-1 Zoning, but It’s Not Meeting Goals

March 11, 2023

March 11, 2023

By Tom Elias More than a year after it took effect, the landmark housing density law known as SB 9...

SMa.r.t. Column: The Urgency to Retrofit Earthquake-Deficient Buildings

March 6, 2023

March 6, 2023

Recent early-morning tremors off the Malibu coast, and the huge and terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria have made us...

SMa.r.t. Column: ​​Reinforcing the Future – A Revisit

February 27, 2023

February 27, 2023

Six years go we discussed, in these pages, the city’s then-renewed earthquake-retrofit rules. At the time we argued that the...

Column: The Inevitable Conversions Begin Multiplying

February 25, 2023

February 25, 2023

By Tom Elias It’s a phenomenon from New York to Dallas to Fresno and Los Angeles, one that seemed inevitable...

Column: The Fantasy World of California Housing Policy

February 20, 2023

February 20, 2023

By Tom Elias If you’re looking for sure things among bills under consideration in the state Legislature, think of one...

SMa.r.t. Column: Santa Monica City Council – Planners, Politicians, or Developers?

February 19, 2023

February 19, 2023

Santa Monica – a progressive city 20 years ago, a chaotic city today! A city that is struggling for its...

SMa.r.t. Column: What’s Wrong With This Picture?

February 16, 2023

February 16, 2023

The picture shown above is the future of Santa Monica. Large tall buildings along the Boulevards and Avenues plus Downtown...

SMa.r.t. Column: To a Better Housing Element

February 3, 2023

February 3, 2023

Your City is busy rewriting much of its zoning code to implement our new Housing Element as demanded by the...

Santa Monica Police Chief’s Message to the Community

January 30, 2023

January 30, 2023

January 27, 2023  Dear Santa Monica Community,  The Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD) would like to extend our heartfelt condolences...

Column: State Usurping Key Powers From Cities

January 28, 2023

January 28, 2023

By Tom Elias All over California last fall, hundreds of the civic minded spent thousands of hours and millions of...

Column – A California Positive: Kids Swarm Extra Classes

January 24, 2023

January 24, 2023

By Tom Elias It’s become a cliché, the shibboleth that California has lousy public schools and most of the kids...

SMa.r.t. Column: Let’s Get Real and Apply Practical Common Sense

January 20, 2023

January 20, 2023

This week’s column is a letter to the City Council, written by Arthur Jeon and sent in this past week....

SMa.r.t. Column: Water Water Everywhere

January 13, 2023

January 13, 2023

The new year has started with water, lots of WATER. The west coast and particularly central and northern California have...

S.M.a.r.t. Looks Ahead

December 31, 2022

December 31, 2022

It’s that time of the year again, when people and organizations look ahead and make resolutions to try to do...

SMa.r.t. Column: Refugees in our Midst

December 22, 2022

December 22, 2022

We published this article exactly five years ago. We leave it to the reader to consider whether this article is...