The ever-creative minds at the City of Santa Monica may have found another way to chip away at the usefulness of the airport they are determined to close. It will be explained at a public meeting Saturday. The city will unveil plans to expand their “airport park” by taking over a 12-acre section of the airport, including ramp space that used to park 24 aircraft. The ramp has been barricaded and the aircraft have moved either to other airports or other areas of the airport. “The expansion of Airport Park follows a directive from City Council on March 24, 2015 to develop recreational uses on two non-aviation parcels with a focus on sports fields to meet a growing community need,” the city said in a news release. The FAA has thwarted numerous attempts to close the airport over the last 20 or so years and has so far not reacted to this gambit.
The city has been fighting the FAA, tenants and operators for years over the future of the airport lands and the closure of an FBO in March apparently gave officials an opening they thought they could exploit by declaring the area occupied by the FBO and its ramp “non-aviation” even though there were two dozen aircraft tied down there. The city says residents are invited to “share their ideas for the park’s future expansion on 12 acres of non-aviation land at Santa Monica Airport” from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
