BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE
Senator Dave Cox, Chair
BILL NO: SB 1141 HEARING: 4/7/10
AUTHOR: Negrete McLeod FISCAL: Yes
VERSION: 4/5/10 CONSULTANT: Detwiler
AIRPORT LAND USE COMMISSIONS
Background and Existing Law
Recognizing that land use planning around airports is more
than just a local concern, state law requires every county
that has an airport with scheduled airline service or a
general aviation airport to establish an airport land use
commission (ALUC). Each ALUC must adopt an airport
compatibility land use plan (ACLUP) for every public use
airport in the county. This plan contains policies that
protect airports from encroachment by incompatible uses and
protects areas adjacent to airports from noise and safety
hazards.
Because of statutory exemptions and alternative procedures,
several counties do not have ALUCs. Some counties allow
cities to oversee compatibility planning for the airports
within their jurisdictions. Pilots groups and other
observers want the Legislature to restore the countywide
approach to airport land use planning.
Proposed Law
I. Member qualifications . ALUCs must have seven members:
two county representatives, two city representatives, two
members with expertise in aviation, and one public member.
A person with expertise in aviation is someone who has
demonstrated knowledge of airport operations and functions
or is an elected official of a local agency that owns an
airport. The mayor of a city that owns an airport can
qualify as a person with "expertise in aviation" even if
the mayor has no aviation knowledge. Senate Bill 1141
repeals the language that allows an elected official of a
local agency that owns an airport to qualify as a person
with expertise in aviation.
II. Countywide body . Instead of establishing a separate
ALUC, local officials can designate another body to assume
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those planning duties. Senate Bill 1141 requires this
designated body to be a countywide body.
III. Another alternative . Instead of forming an ALUC, the
county board of supervisors and the affected cities can
determine that proper land use planning can be accomplished
without an ALUC. The county and affected cities must adopt
planning processes that will result in an ACLUP for each
public-use airport. Caltrans' Division of Aeronautics must
review and approve those alternative planning processes.
If the county doesn't comply with these requirements within
120 days, then it must form an ALUC within 90 days of
Caltrans' noncompliance determination. The ALUC must adopt
its ACLUP within 90 days after the ALUC's establishment.
Senate Bill 1141 also allows a city to assume an ALUC's
duties for an airport located within its boundaries if,
before January 1, 2011, the county board of supervisors and
the city council agree that the city can provide proper
land use planning, and the airport:
Is certified by the Federal Aviation Administration
for meeting specified standards.
Has a noise compatibility program approved by the
Federal Aviation Administration.
Is owned and operated by an agency that is
headquartered in another county.
The city council must adopt planning processes that will
result in an ACLUP for each public-use airport. Caltrans'
Division of Aeronautics must review and approve those
alternative planning processes. If the city doesn't comply
with these requirements by January 1, 2011, then the
affected airport is subject to the ALUC within 90 days of
Caltrans' determination of noncompliance.
IV. Land use consistency . City and county general plans
and specific plans must be consistent with the ALUC's plan.
If the ALUC determines that the local plans are not
consistent, the city council or county board of supervisors
can overrule the ALUC by a 2/3 vote, after making findings.
Overruling the Marin County ALUC requires only the
majority vote of a city council or the county supervisors.
Senate Bill 1141 repeals Marin County's special override
provision.
V. Liability immunity . If a city council or county board
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of supervisors overrides the ALUC's plan, the operator of a
publicly owned airport is immune from liability for any
resulting damages. Not all public use airports are owned
by public agencies; some public use airports are privately
owned. Cable Airport (San Bernardino County), for example,
is a privately owned public use airport. Senate Bill 1141
extends the existing liability immunity to public use
airports.
VI. Airport Land Use Commission Establishment Fund . Some
counties without ALUCs say that start-up costs make it hard
for them to comply with current law. Senate Bill 1141
allows Caltrans' Division of Aeronautics to establish an
Airport Land Use Commission Establishment Fund and allocate
money under its control to the Fund. SB 1141 requires the
Division to notify counties that don't have ALUCs that
money is available to pay their start-up costs. The
Division can grant money from the Fund to the counties that
apply for funding to start ALUCs. A county that accepts
money from the Fund has 12 months to establish an ALUC or
designate an appropriate countywide body. The bill
prohibits the Division from giving more money to a county
that accepts money from the Fund but fails to establish an
ALUC.
VII. Aeronautics Account funding . Within the existing
State Transportation Fund there is an Aeronautics Account
which receives federal trust funds, plus excise tax
revenues from aviation gas and jet fuel. State officials
make grants from the Aeronautics Account to public entities
for airport capital improvements. If Caltrans' Division of
Aeronautics determines that there are enough funds in the
Airport Land Use Commission Establishment Fund [see above]
to pay for start-up costs in counties that don't have
ALUCs, Senate Bill 1141 prohibits Aeronautics Account
payments to public entities located in counties that don't
have an ALUC, a countywide alternative planning body, or an
alternative planning body. This prohibition doesn't apply
when a county has applied for money to establish an ALUC.
VIII. Technical changes . Senate Bill 1141 also makes
conforming changes to the airport land use planning statute
and repeals obsolete provisions.
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Comments
1. Clear skies ahead . As California's population
increases, pressure mounts in local communities to build on
undeveloped land around airports. Encroaching development
near airports invites noise and safety problems that can
lead to political pressure to restrict or even close the
facilities. At the same time, airport operators want to
expand facilities and operations because of the demand for
air service and new security requirements. Countywide
ALUCs exist to balance the competing interests of airports
and their neighbors. However, as a result of statutory
exemptions and alternative procedures, several counties
disbanded their ALUCs and shifted the planning duties to
individual cities. The absence of a countywide ALUC allows
local economic interests to outweigh the broader regional
and statewide interests in maintaining public airports. SB
1141 improves land use oversight around public use airports
by promoting the countywide review that the Legislature
wanted when it created ALUCs. Because most counties have
kept their ALUCs operating, they will see few changes
because of SB 1141. But in the counties that disbanded
ALUCs, local officials and airport operators will need to
think again.
2. Funds and flying . ALUCs can't guarantee airports full
protection from encroaching development. Even in counties
with ALUCs, local officials can still approve incompatible
land uses around airports. Encroachment is possible
because local officials can override ALUC decisions. Why
should SB 1141 make public entities ineligible for State
Aeronautics Account money just because they haven't set up
a countywide land use bureaucracy? Withholding state funds
isn't fair when local officials think that can make good
land use choices without countywide ALUCs.
3. Three exemptions . While SB 1141 promotes countywide
ALUCs, the bill does not affect two existing exemptions and
even creates a third. The Legislature specifically gave
the Los Angeles County Regional Planning Commission the
responsibility of coordinating airport compatibility
planning in Los Angeles County; SB 1141 does not change
that assignment. The Legislature assigned the ALUC duties
in San Diego County to the San Diego County Regional
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Airport Authority; the bill doesn't change that assignment.
SB 1141 also implicitly permits the City of Ontario (San
Bernardino County) to retain its responsibility for
planning land uses around the Ontario LA International
Airport, which is owned and operated by the City of Los
Angeles.
4. Ready for takeoff ? SB 1141 is the third attempt in
three years to restore countywide ALUCs. The Senate Local
Government Committee passed the similar SB 737 (Negrete
McLeod, 2009) by the vote of 5-0, but the bill died in the
Senate Appropriations Committee. SB 737 was similar to SB
1118 (Negrete McLeod, 2008), which the Committee also
passed 5-0; that bill failed on the Assembly Floor.
Support and Opposition (4/1/10)
Support : Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association,
Association of California Airports, California Pilots
Association, Southwest Chapter of the American Association
of Airport Executives.
Opposition : Cities of Chino, Highland Upland, Watsonville,
County of San Bernardino.