Whiteman Airport, a county-owned general aviation field in the northeastern San Fernando Valley, has been the focus of local debate over possible closure and redevelopment. A recently surfaced Jan. 21 letter from the FAA to Los Angeles County adds a key federal perspective to that discussion, stating that land at Whiteman purchased with Airport Improvement Program funds remains obligated for the useful life of the land unless the agency approves a release.
The letter says an airport sponsor that used grant money to acquire land “must use the airport as an airport until released by the FAA,” and adds that any closure proposal would have to show a net benefit to civil aviation. The county is nevertheless moving ahead with a $1.3 million study examining possible closure and redevelopment of the airport.
The FAA letter does not settle the airport’s future, but it does indicate that any closure effort would extend beyond a local policy decision. According to the letter, the county, as airport sponsor, would have to provide its own analysis and justification for any long-range planning request involving release and closure, and the FAA would not act unless such a request is reviewed and approved by the agency’s associate administrator for airports.
Supporters of keeping Whiteman open have argued that the airport serves based aircraft, flight training, local aviation businesses and emergency-response needs, with members of the Whiteman Airport Coalition also pointing to its place in the county airport system.
“Whiteman Airport is one of the five county airports, but it’s also a profitable airport,” Penny Alderson, an owner of the airport’s largest business, Vista Aviation, told the San Fernando Valley Sun. “If in fact Whiteman Airport would close for some reason, at least two other county airports would also have to close, and that would just collapse the Southern California aviation system, and the FAA is never going to allow that.”
Opponents include local community groups and some elected officials, who have argued for closure on environmental and safety grounds. Rep. Luz Rivas, in a March 12 letter to the FAA, raised concerns about flight paths over her district and the risk to life and property if an error were to occur.
“The Van Nuys, Whiteman, and Hollywood Burbank airports all have flight paths over my Congressional District in the San Fernando Valley,” Rivas wrote. “One error along any of these flight paths could result in a tragic outcome in the loss of life and property. It is the responsibility of the FAA to instill confidence in my constituents and the aviation industry and assure them that every possible tool is being used to ensure safety.”
Safety and environmental concerns. To close an airport. That and the possibility of an accident. Well, if there hasn’t been any accidents, nor a history of said accidents, i would have to believe that the safety concerns are a non issue. Now lets address the flight paths and patterns. Some people just don’t like them. My advice is to not move near an airport. And to move away from them.
Liz Rivas is an idiot. Using that argument, ALL the airports in California should be closed; including LAX, SFO, and all the other major airports in the state.
Agreed (she’s an idiot)! Maybe she should also ask to have the busy roads closed in her district because of potental accidents or a hazmat spill! Who elects these clowns?!
Maybe county officials saw how Chicago’s Mayor/King Daley closed Miegs Field wthout approval and the FAA did basically nothing. They likely plan to wait until a more friendly administration comes back to the White House before they do what they please.
If they are so concerned with safety, pollution, noise, etc., there is a railroad that runs right next to KWHP. Maybe they should start there and see how far they get.