Meeting designed to hear last of expansion protests lacks
quorum; plan now goes to supes
The presence of only three of seven Santa Clara County airport
commissioners at a crucial meeting Tuesday effectively scuttled any
hope held by San Martin residents to prevent the bulk of general
aviation growth in the next 20 years from being housed at South
County Airport.
Meeting designed to hear last of expansion protests lacks quorum; plan now goes to supes
The presence of only three of seven Santa Clara County airport commissioners at a crucial meeting Tuesday effectively scuttled any hope held by San Martin residents to prevent the bulk of general aviation growth in the next 20 years from being housed at South County Airport.
Airport commission chairman Robert Lenox allowed San Martin residents to speak, but the absence of four colleagues signaled the lack of a quorum to conduct business.
That business — according to the commission agenda — was possible reconsideration of action taken by the panel Oct. 1. At that time, the commission left intact a consultant’s recommendations on how many planes South County Airport can handle, but rejected a proposal to lengthen the runway, a necessity if bigger aircraft are to land there.
Now with the board of supervisors scheduled to vote Nov. 19 on updating the county’s airport master plan — which includes county airports in Palo Alto and San Jose — even preliminary review of the plan by a county land-use subcommittee has been cancelled.
“The issue is going directly to the board. We have to move ahead,” board of supervisors chairman Don Gage said Wednesday.
Ordinarily, the matter would have gone to the county Housing, Land Use, Environmental and Transportation Committee for review.
“We’ve had extra meetings with the public – above and beyond what we had planned. There is a point at which you begin beating it to death,” Gage said.
Gage said consultant Shoett Moens Associates has not charged for the extra meetings because only the time of project manager Dave Dietz was involved. The firm didn’t have to do more research, he said.
“No one should be complaining,” Gage said.
Although the direction of the Tuesday meeting soon became apparent, members of the San Martin Neighborhood Alliance didn’t leave without a farewell slap at what they said has been sloppy work by airport commissioners, county airport division staff members and the consultant.
Barry Shiller, who called the proposed airport update weak and insufficient, said the study didn’t address public opinion or respect the county General Plan, which calls for San Martin to remain small and rural, and that businesses there should serve local needs.
Additionally, the consultant didn’t take a regional approach to solutions, Shiller said. Actually, Shiller said, pilots have indicated that they might prefer to base their aircraft in Watsonville, San Carlos, Hollister or Hayward because of convenience or fees for tie-down or hangar space.
“You started with the conclusion and worked backward to the decision you wanted. It won’t stand up under public scrutiny,” Shiller said.
Richard Vantrood said a larger airport would require safety zones that could restrict activities and uses on 340 acres of private property.
Roy Froom reminded commissioners of the noise that aircraft in San Martin would generate. The noise level would be greater in San Martin because the long, narrow valley creates a sort of echo chamber, he said.
The overall ambient sound level in San Martin is 45 to 50 decibels, one-tenth of the 60 to 70 decibels over most of San Jose, Froom said. Airport noise that in San Jose would be irritating would rob San Martin of its rural identity, he said.
Sylvia Hamilton, president of the neighborhood alliance, said the South Valley is willing to accept its share of general aviation growth. But, she added, the currently stated airport update goal of avoiding disproportionate impact on any one community is negated if 5 to 6 percent of the county population (San Martin) must bear 21 to 35 percent of demand for hangars or tie-down space from North County pilots and up to 90 percent of overall aviation growth.
Hamilton also pointed to the current airport master plan, which dates to 1982. The document says, according to Hamilton, that the San Martin facility isn’t suitable as a stress reliever for North County demand, and that it envisions a maximum of 300 aircraft there. The 550 aircraft cited in the consultant’s report came from the 1960 airport master plan, she said.
When the suggestion was made that the airport commission reconvene when a quorum was present, county roads and airports chief Michael Murdter indicated that the process can’t be delayed. Murdter said county supervisors are expecting the matter before them Nov. 19 and that the meeting already has been advertised.
In reality, according to an attorney familiar with meeting law, governing bodies have wide latitude in taking up issues. An advertised meeting can be opened and continued, with only overriding legislation such as the California Environmental Protection Act able to command a rigid timeline, the attorney said.
The Shutt Moens study finds that 1,960 pilots will want to base their planes at one of the three county-operated airports by 2022. San Jose International Airport, which is phasing out is general aviation component, is scheduled to be home to only 179 planes by the end of the planning period.
The San Martin airport currently rents about half of its 178 available spaces, and is scheduled to have 100 hangars built soon.
Current basing capacity at Reid-Hillview Airport in San Jose, Palo Alto Airport and South County Airport is 1,457 planes. If projected demand is to be met, the three facilities will have to provide 324 more places. The most logical place to house the majority of the increase is in South County, the report says.
“At Palo Alto, the county does not control land-use decisions on either the airport property or the surrounding community. At Reid-Hillview, the county controls land-use decisions on the airport but not in the surrounding community. At South County, the county controls land-use decisions on both the airport property and in the surrounding community,” the report says.
No significant increase in capacity is recommended for Reid-Hillview because of the proximity of homes. In Palo Alto, the county’s lease on the airport property expires in 2017, raising a certain level of uncertainty.
Patricia Ramos, a community coordinator for the San Jose Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, has attended airport commission meetings, including this week’s session, as a watchdog for opponents of Reid-Hillview Airport expansion.
Ramos reminded San Martin residents that San Jose was once rural and that Reid-Hillview Airport grew without benefit of public opinion.
“The future of aviation is changing. Nothing is written in stone. We have to share in providing facilities to meet the need. Some won’t like it, but we have to work together,” Ramos said.
Downplaying the effect of aviation growth in South County, the report says that the San Martin airport might have to accommodate only 418 aircraft – an increase of 140 — by 2022 to full meet demand. The report continues to use 550 as the maximum number of aircraft assigned to the facility.
