On Monday evening,March 22, 2010 the Livermore City Council held a public meeting to review, discuss, and act on several different airport resolutions. There was a nice showing of concerned pilots from the aviation community. Of the nine citizens who addressed the City Council regarding the airport issues, all but two spoke in favor of supporting the airport resolutions. The main concern of those two who had concerns pertained to noise.
In considering the airport resolutions, the City Council had relatively few questions. The City Council was appreciative and complimentary of the excellent work that went into the resolutions from City staff. All of the resolutions passed with unanimous votes.
There were four separate airport resolutions reviewed and approved:
- 5.01A This resolution set forth policies that would guide the Airport Commission and City staff in operational and development activities at the airport. An example of one of the policies is that the City does not intend to extend the existing runways.
- 5.01B This resolution rescinds the 1975 Airport Master Plan. With the rescission of this Master Plan, the development at the airport would be governed by the General Plan Amendment and Airport Zoning Districts (5.01C), and the Airport Operational and Development Policies (5.01D).
- 5.01C This resolution deleted references to the 1975 Airport Master Plan in the General Plan, and established two new zoning districts for the airport.
- 5.01D This resolution focused on Airport Rules and Regulations. As an example the new rules and regulations address the proper use of hangars, project aircraft, lease terms and parking.
The City Council did ask City legal counsel for a brief “history” on the challenges and legal aspects that other airports have faced when considering curfews for night time operations at airports. It was the thought of Council Member Jeff Williams that this information could be of use in future discussions regarding curfews.
At this public meeting there was no discussion regarding the pending “Livermore Airport Initiative.” This initiative would require:
- A public vote for city or private airport expenditures in excess of $100,000.
- Voter approval any time Livermore applies for a federal airport grant for the airport.
Organizers of this initiative have until May 19 to collect 4,500 signatures in order to qualify it for the next general election. I do not know how successful organizers have been to date in collecting signatures.
Paul Peterson
Livermore, CA
