Will Palo Alto airport be grounded? Will Palo Alto airport be grounded? (June 03, 2005)

Supporters fear lost grant is first step in facility closure

by Bill D'Agostino

The City of Palo Alto and Santa Clara County recently declined a $1.3 million federal grant that would have improved security at the Palo Alto Airport because neither agency could commit to keeping the facility open past 2017.

Although officials attempted to downplay the news, noting the funds could be sought next year if future plans are firmer, airport supporters were dismayed to hear about it from the press and feared it would be the first step toward the facility's eventual closure.

"I think everybody's shocked," said Peter Carpenter, the chair of the airport's Joint Community Relations Committee. "It was sort of like the Friday night massacre."

The Federal Aviation Administration requires that grant applicants assure that their facilities remain open for 20 future years. "It just makes sense," spokesperson Ronn Walker said. But a 50-year lease between the county -- which manages the one-runway airport -- and the city, which owns the land, expires in 2017.

The grant also would have included money for improved lighting and weather observation. There are approximately 200,000 takeoffs and landings a year at the airport, which caters to flying enthusiasts, airplane commuters and others with private aircrafts. It's also used for medical flights.

In public reports to the council for the past three years, Carpenter has been advocating that the city and county negotiate a new lease to allow the airport to make needed improvements.

In a series of rueful e-mails to public officials and fellow airport enthusiasts in recent days, Carpenter accused City Manager Frank Benest of exceeding his authority by not consulting with the City Council about the decision.

The city manager denied the charge. Benest noted that the deadline for applying for the grant expired on May 5 and that he only received a letter from the county, dated April 29, asking for the city to sponsor the grant. He said he couldn't place the issue on the council's agenda in time to meet the deadline. "The dates speak for themselves."

Benest said if he himself had promised that the airport would stay open, "I would have been making a policy call. I did not make the policy call because I was not empowered to do that."

Any future decisions about the airport have to be made after the county completes a "master plan," Benest added. When a draft of the plan is public, scheduled for the fall, it will be placed on the council's agenda, he said.

Airport enthusiasts' fear that its closure could indeed come true as that plan is written. The process "could bring up negotiations for a new lease ... or it could show there isn't any need for the airport to be managed by the county," said Carl Honaker, director of county airports.

The county's and the city's desires for the land have been in conflict for years, according to county supervisor and former Palo Alto mayor Liz Kniss. "I think at this point while they haven't agreed to part company, they certainly haven't agreed to go to the prom either," she said.

The city's long-term plans call for the airport to remain open, but to only allow for "minimal expansion" since it's located in the environmentally sensitive Baylands, off Embarcadero Road. But the county needs to construct new buildings to make the airport economically viable, Kniss noted.

The airport has been losing $150,000 to $200,000 a year in recent years, while other county airports are self-supporting, she added.

Josh Smith, the general manager of the West Valley Flying Club, a nonprofit flight training school located at the airport, said he believed the two sides were not very far apart, but "they just need to start talking."

Staff Writer Bill D'Agostino can be e-mailed at bdagostino@paweekly.com.

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