People Over Planes, Inc..  
of Contra Costa County, California
An information group providing the community with information on  
the operation of Buchanan Field airport from the perspective of the community.
 
 
The Current Land Use Plan for Buchanan Field. 
The Current plan was adopted in 1980, based on information in 1978.  The plan was subsequently amended in 1984.
 
While we are still working on this page, we will say at least the following: 

The existing plan sets out two types of Zones
 
Clear Zone (Area) Safety Zone
This zone is roughly equivalent to Zone A in Travis Aero Club Plan. This zone is roughly equivalent to Zone B in Travis Aero Club Plan.  The safety zone is approximately 2,400 feet in its longest dimension.  The larger Zone B of the Travis Aero Club Plan is 3,500 feet in its longest dimension.
* No Structures, No Commercial, No dwellings. * Generally incompatible: Any use which, on a regular basis, would result in a density (excluding streets) in excess of 30 persons per acre or 1 person per 500 sq. ft of gross building floor area, whichever is less.  

* Specifically incompatible: New single and multiple family residences, shopping centers, restaurants, schools, hospitals, arenas, and other places of public assembly.
* Suggested uses in the safety zone.  Agriculture, open space, warehousing, light industry, parking of automobiles, public uses such as sewage treatment plants.
 
There is no rough equivalent to Zones C and D of the Travis Plan.  However, the current plan does impose Avigation easements on properties that have noise levels of more than 60 dB CNEL (Community Equivalent Noise Level) which is caused by airport operations.  An Avigation easement is more stringent than the buyer awareness deed used in Zone D of the Travis plan since it not only indicates the location of the property relative to the airport, but also strips the property owner of any legal rights to sue the airport over operations and airport expansion.   

Very few properties fall within the 60 dB CNEL zone, and are usually within 1/2 mile of the runway ends. 

Nationwide, it is the usual practice to impose Avigation easements only on properties which have  noise levels more than 65 dB CNEL (not 60 dB CNEL) which are caused by airport operations.  Our legal counsel informs us that the imposition of Avigation easements requires the Airport to provide a sound proofing program for those properties that are subject to Avigation easements.  Our Airport has no such program, and any imposition of Avigation easements without such a program in place would seem to run afoul of the law and FAA procedure. 

CNEL is a time-weighted average noise level.
 
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