Airport expansion plans nears final county approval

Supervisors expected to hear proposal on January
10
Major expansion plans at the Charles Schulz Sonoma County
Airport will probably win approval next month when the project goes
to the County Board of Supervisors for a final public hearing.
County Planning Commissioners recommended approval of the
proposed expansion plans this month, sending the project to the
Board for a hearing on Jan. 10.
Airport expansion will more than triple the number of allowed
scheduled commercial airline flights from the current five per day
to as many as 21 daily flights by the year 2020.
A mix of regional (up to 100 seats) and mainline (up to 150
seats) planes will offer flights to San Francisco and Oakland
airports as well as destinations beyond, in addition to the
now-daily Horizon -Alaska Air flights to L.A., Las Vegas, Seattle
and Portland, Oregon.
A survey of business transportation needs in Marin and Sonoma
counties showed a demand for flights to San Diego, Chicago, Dallas
and New York, according to the Airport Master Plan approved this
month.
Nearly 500,000 commercial air passengers per year, approximately
1,200 people per day, could be flying in and out of Sonoma County
Airport by 2020 under the terms of the county’s revised Airport
Master Plan the Planning Commission approved on Dec. 1.
Approximately 188,000 passengers currently depart and arrive
annually on five daily scheduled commercial aviation flights
offered by Alaska-Horizon, according to airport statistics.
A key to the expansion is a longer runway to accommodate
“mainline” jet liners carrying up to 150 passengers.
The runway extension has drawn opposition from airport neighbors
who say the expansion project is incompatible with adjacent
residential neighborhoods that will be subjected to increased
noise, air pollution and lower property values.
The Planning Commission approval of the expansion was not
unanimous, with Commissioner Greg Carr voting against approval.
Carr, a retired Sonoma County senior planner, raised several
questions on whether the final expansion plans adequately balance
“the need for air service with neighborhood compatibility
issues.”
A final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) on the expansion was
also approved by Planning Commissioners Dec. 1 and will go to
County Supervisors for a hearing on Jan. 10 followed by a final
vote scheduled for Jan. 24.
The estimated $158 million 20-year expansion is expected to be
funded mainly with Federal Aviation Administration grants plus a
smaller (5 percent) state Caltrans Aeronautics loan.
The Supervisors must also make a finding of overriding
consideration that the expanded airport’s public benefits outweigh
its major environmental impacts that include future car traffic
congestion, increased greenhouse gas emissions and loss of wildlife
habitat.
Approximately 650 feet of Airport Creek will be buried in a
culvert as part of the proposed main runway expansion to 6,000
feet.
Commissioners agreed the unavoidable environmental impacts are
outweighed by the public benefits of jobs, tourism revenues and
traveling convenience.
The current commercial airline service of five daily flights
“contributes $112 million and approximately 400 jobs to the local
economy,” said the Planning Commission resolution approved this
month.
Airport tenants contribute over $1.4 million in taxes per year,
according to the county Permit and Resource Management Department.
Increasing airline service and facilities “will have a
corresponding increase in economic benefits including more jobs and
increased tax revenues,” said the Commission.