AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2014 - 40

PILOT BRIEFING
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AOPA ACTION

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Judge dismisses Santa Monica suit

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VIDEO

City will stop at nothing to close airport; AOPA ready for long fight

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U.S. DISTRICT JUDGE John F. Walter in
February dismissed the city of Santa
Monica's lawsuit to release it from its obligation to operate Santa Monica Municipal
Airport as an airport.
This is a major victory for the airport,
and a blow to the city's latest attack. In its
suit, the city claimed that when it agreed to
the transfer of federal land to the city in 1948,
it did not know the United States claimed an
interest in the title to the airport property.
If the city were to ever close the airport, the
government could take back the land.
The judge found that the city had been
put on notice of the United States' interest
in the airport property, and that the statute
of limitations for the city to make the claim

expired decades ago. The city raised various
constitutional issues, which were dismissed.
"This doesn't mean the city will give
up," said AOPA General Counsel Ken Mead.
"The city continues to strangle the airport
while spending millions to try to close it.
We're ready for whatever they bring on."
AOPA President Mark Baker also cautioned the aviation community that the fight
is far from finished. "The city will spare no
expense-financial or the personal toll on
its own residents-to close the airport," said
Baker, "but we will use every resource available to keep Santa Monica open."
AOPA Vice President of Airports Bill
Dunn said the city's general plan calls for
a business park at the airport, and that city

Learn more in this video.

council members have said that anyone who
thinks Santa Monica will be turned into a
park is wrong; it will be a development.
Adding a business development would
worsen the traffic congestion in Santa
Monica. AOPA commissioned a third-party
survey in 2011 to gauge residents' concerns
about various issues in the city. The airport ranked near the bottom of the list of
residents' concerns, with just 2 percent
expressing that view. Meanwhile, traffic
congestion and growth and development
were at the top of the list.
"The city is not representing its citizens," Baker said. "Surveys have proven the
majority of Santa Monica residents support
the airport."
-AJM

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AOPA Turbine Pilot Magazine - April 2014

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