City Of Santa Monica, FAA At Odds Over Airport
SANTA MONICA (CBSLA.com) — The city of Santa Monica and the Federal Aviation Administration are still at odds over the Santa Monica Airport.
KCAL9's Serene Branson reports the city is suing the FAA, claiming they have the right to close down at least part of the 227-acre piece of property.
David Goddard, the chair of the Santa Monica Airport Commission, would like to see it turned into a park.
"It would be a much more community-friendly use and much more tolerable use or neighborhood-friendly use," he said.
Goddard said the airport has been controversial with neighbors worried about crashes near homes like a fatal accident in September and another accident in 2011, in which a student pilot barely made it out. The commission's research also shows concerns over jet pollution.
"Eighty percent of the respondents said they either want the airport closed or the operations reduced," Goddard said.
On Friday, the FAA filed a motion to dismiss the city's lawsuit, saying Santa Monica should wait until 2015 when the land agreement with the FAA expires.
The FAA did not respond to requests for comment. In the past, they've said the city is obligated to continue operating the airport due to a 1948 agreement.