Only a few days after losing yet another round in the legal slugfest that continues over Santa Monica Airport, opponents of the airport are turning up the political pressure on the city council, according to the Santa Monica Lookout. Municipal elections are coming this fall and the well-organized anti-airport forces are making it clear to potential candidates that they want nothing less than a full closure of the airport within two years. A motion to that effect will be considered at the Aug. 23 meeting of city council even though the FAA just turned down an appeal by the city that would allow such a closure. The FAA maintains that the airport must remain open until at least 2023 to fulfill the 20-year term tied to federal funding of the facility in 2003. Even though the legal decisions and precedents are well-established, the anti-airport groups are demanding action and are offering some suggestions.
They will be asking the current council to halt fuel sales at the airport and to evict Atlantic Aviation, the major FBO, immediately. They’re also demanding that council ignore the legal consequences of those actions. “We know there are fears that getting rid of the tenants and fuel will produce lawsuits and FAA action,” anti-airport activist Kay Foster wrote to the council. “But failing to do so will endanger the health and lives of the people who voted you into office, as well as others who live in Los Angeles, and inflict untold damage on us all, including children, for years to come.”
