In December 1993, CalTRANS Division of Aeronautics published the Airport Land Use Planning Handbook, which provided the state's airport land use commissions with a set of guidelines for planning land use around the state's airports.  Currently, these guidelines are voluntary.  Coincidentally, the consultant who prepared this handbook for CalTRANS is the same consultant who is preparing the plans for Buchanan and Byron airports (Ken Brody from Shutt-Moen Associates). 

Figure 9G of the Airport Land Use Planning Handbook provides exemplary configurations of the Safety Zones of the type that our consultant is proposing for the land surrounding Buchanan Field.  In fact, the shapes of the safety zones proposed by the consultant closely follow those provided in Figure 9G (some of the zones are somewhat smaller than provided in the figure, and some are somewhat larger than provided in the figure).  Since Figure 9G of the Handbook is the only concrete example for setting up the safety zones given in the Handbook, it and the corresponding descriptive text at pages 9-19 through 9-23 is evolving into a standard, rather than remaining as an example.  I have asked Ken Brody about this, and he is somewhat disconcerted that the figure may be turning into a standard.  Ken has told me and others that he threw in Figure 9G at the last minute as an afterthought to the preparation of the Handbook. 

While the shape of the safety zones proposed for Buchanan are close to those shown in figure 9G, the main difference is that the restrictions that are being proposed for the land around Buchanan are significantly watered down from those provided on pages 9-21 through 9-23 of the Handbook.  For example, the proposed zone 4 for Buchanan would permit large shopping centers (e.g., Sun Valley Mall) of up to three stories in height whereas the "example" of figure 9G prohibits them. 

Click here to See Figure 9G and the related text (pages 9-14, and 9-17 through 9-25; 
pages 9-14 and 9-17 through 9-20 provide background to the example restrictions on pages 9-21 through 9-23)

Goto the next column--->

Further Background Information on the Derrivation of Figure 9G:
The zones provided in Figure 9G are based research conducted by the Institute of Transportation Studies at U.C. Berkeley.  Of 12,700 accidents over 9 years (1983-1991) in 50 states, 400 were selected because their accident records contained sufficient information on the location of the accident relative to the airport runway.  The selected accidents include all types of general aviation airplanes, but exclude airline aircraft, helicopters, and military aircraft.  There were 238 fatalities in the 400 accidents: 234 aircraft occupants and 4 people on the ground.  Also, there were 144 series injuries: 109 injured aircraft occupants, 5 injured people on the ground.  The primary purpose of the safety zones is to protect people on the ground.  Of the fatalites/injuries in these 400 accidents, 2.3% were to people on the ground.  The data would suggest that, on average, there is a 1% chance that a general aviation accident will kill someone on the ground, and a 1.25% chance that it will injure someone.

While Senate Bill 1084 is being carried by Senator Mountjoy (a pilot), it is being sponsored and pushed by the California Pilots Association.  Jay White is the lead attorney for this pilots' Association (and also a member).  The bill has the following three significant requirements that will affect local jurisdictions: 

1. requires an airport land use commission to be guided by the Airport Land Use Planning Handbook;

2. requires a planning commission that approves a project within the boundaries of a comprehensive airport land use plan to be guided by the Handbook;

3. requires the commission to submit a draft copy of each plan, plan update, or plan amendment for evaluation by CalTRANS Division of Aeronautics as to conformance with the Division's Airport Land Use Planning Handbook and would prohibit the commission from adopting the plan, update, or amendment until receiving notice from the department that plan, update, or amendment conforms to the Handbook.

POP believes that these requirements would effectively force CalTRANS to set uniform, statewide standards for the safety zones, and will force airport land use commissions to follow the statewide standard.  Since Figure 9G is already evolving into a standard, POP feels that the path of least effort for CalTRANS would be to adopt this figure and the associated restrictions as the uniform standard (after all, CalTRANS has already paid for the consulting work provided in the Handbook, so why do more work?).  Because airport land use commissions do not have to live with the economic consequences of their actions, they will be free to pass land use plans which follow any standard set by CalTRANS. 

While it is true that any local jurisdiction which is affected by an airport land use plan can override such a plan, the vague language of the above-listed second requirement will likely open the door for aviation groups to sue a city when the city's planning commission does not follow the Handbook in approving a project.  This would appear to be true whether or not the city has overridden a commission's airport land use plan.  Currently, aviation groups can only sue when a city violates the portions of an airport land use plan which the city had previously adopted. 

SB 1084 Airport land use commissions. 

        AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   FEBRUARY 10, 2000
        AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   JUNE 22, 1999
        AMENDED IN SENATE   JUNE 1, 1999
        AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 27, 1999
        AMENDED IN SENATE   APRIL 12, 1999

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Mountjoy
   (Coauthor:  Senator Knight)
   (Coauthor:  Assembly Member Robert Pacheco)

                        FEBRUARY 26, 1999
  An act to amend Sections  21670, 21674.7, 
21674.7  and 21675 of the Public Utilities Code, relating to
aviation.

        LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
   SB 1084, as amended, Mountjoy.  Airport land use commissions.
   (1) The State Aeronautics Act provides for the creation of airport
land use commissions, with powers and duties as prescribed.
 Each commission is required to consist of 7 members,
including 2 members having an expertise in aviation.  For purposes of
this requirement, "expertise in aviation" is defined as, among other
things, being an elected official of a local agency that owns or
operates an airport.
   This bill would delete the elected officials specified above from
the definition described above. 
   (2) The act requires an airport land use commission that
formulates, adopts or amends a comprehensive airport land use plan to
be guided by the Airport Land Use Planning Handbook published by the
Aeronautics Program of the Department of Transportation.
   This bill would require a planning commission that approves a
project within the boundaries of a comprehensive airport land use
plan to be guided by the Airport Land Use Planning Handbook.  Because
the bill would thereby impose additional duties upon those local
governmental entities, it would create a state-mandated local
program.
   (3) The act requires each airport land use commission to formulate
a comprehensive land use plan that will provide for the orderly
growth of each public airport and the area surrounding the airport
within the jurisdiction of the commission.
   This bill would  also  require the commission to submit a
draft copy of each plan, plan update, or plan amendment  for
evaluation by   to  the department  as to
conformance with the department's Airport Land Use Planning Handbook
 and would prohibit the commission from adopting the plan,
 plan  update, or  plan  amendment until receiving
notice from the department that  the  plan,  plan 
update, or  plan  amendment conforms to the 
handbook   department's Airport Land Use Planning
Handbook.  Because the bill would thereby impose additional
duties upon those local governmental entities, it would create a
state-mandated local program.
  (4) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state.  Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
   This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program:  yes.

POP's NOTE -- The  language shown below is amended with respect to the last version of the bill, not with respect to the Public Utilites Code. 
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
  SECTION 1.  Section 21670 of the Public Utilities Code is amended
to read:
   21670.  (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:
   (1) It is in the public interest to provide for the orderly
development of each public use airport in this state and the area
surrounding these airports so as to promote the overall goals and
objectives of the California airport noise standards adopted under
Section 21669 and to prevent the creation of new noise and safety
problems.
   (2) It is the purpose of this article to protect the public
health, safety, and welfare by ensuring the orderly expansion of
airports and the adoption of land use measures that minimize the
public's exposure to excessive noise and safety hazards within areas
around public airports to the extent that these areas are not already
devoted to incompatible uses.
   (b) In order to achieve the purposes of this article, every county
in which there is located an airport that is served by a scheduled
airline shall establish an airport land use commission.  Every
county, in which there is located an airport that is not served by a
scheduled airline, but is operated for the benefit of the general
public, shall establish an airport land use commission, except that
the board of supervisors of the county may, after consultation with
the appropriate airport operators and affected local entities and
after a public hearing, adopt a resolution finding that there are no
noise, public safety, or land use issues affecting any airport in the
county that require the creation of a commission and declaring the
county exempt from that requirement.  The board shall, in this event,
transmit a copy of the resolution to the Director of Transportation.
  For purposes of this section, "commission" means an airport land
use commission.  Each commission shall consist of seven members to be
selected as follows:
   (1) Two representing the cities in the county, appointed by a city
selection committee comprised of the mayors of all the cities within
that county, except that if there are any cities contiguous or
adjacent to the qualifying airport, at least one representative shall
be appointed therefrom.  If there are no cities within a county, the
number of representatives provided for by paragraphs (2) and (3)
shall each be increased by one.
   (2) Two representing the county, appointed by the board of
supervisors.
   (3) Two having expertise in aviation, appointed by a selection
committee comprised of the managers of all of the public airports
within that county. For the purposes of this paragraph, "expertise in
aviation" means having particular knowledge of, and familiarity
with, the function, operation, and role of airports, acquired by way
of education, training, business, experience, vocation, or avocation.

   (4) One representing the general public, appointed by the other
six members of the commission.
   (c) Public officers, whether elected or appointed, may be
appointed and serve as members of the commission during their terms
of public office.
   (d) Each member shall promptly appoint a single proxy to represent
him or her in commission affairs and to vote on all matters when the
member is not in attendance.  The proxy shall be designated in a
signed written instrument that shall be kept on file at the
commission offices, and the proxy shall serve at the pleasure of the
appointing member.  A vacancy in the office of proxy shall be filled
promptly by appointment of a new proxy.
  SEC. 2. 
  SECTION 1.   Section 21674.7 of the Public Utilities Code is
amended to read:
   21674.7.  An airport land use commission that formulates, adopts
or amends a comprehensive airport land use plan, or a planning
commission that approves a project within the boundaries of a
comprehensive airport land use plan, shall be guided by information
prepared and updated under Section 21674.5 and referred to as the
Airport Land Use Planning Handbook published by the Aeronautics
Program of the Department of Transportation. 
  SEC. 3. 
  SEC. 2.   Section 21675 of the Public Utilities Code is
amended to read:
   21675.  (a) Each commission shall formulate a comprehensive land
use plan that will provide for the orderly growth of each public
airport and the area surrounding the airport within the jurisdiction
of the commission, and will safeguard the general welfare of the
inhabitants within the vicinity of the airport and the public in
general.  The commission plan shall include and shall be based on a
long-range master plan or an airport layout plan, as determined by
the Aeronautics Program of the Department of Transportation, that
reflects the anticipated growth of the airport, specifically
including, but not limited to, the related noise and safety issues,
during at least the next 20 years.  In formulating a land use plan,
the commission may develop height restrictions on buildings, specify
use of land, and determine building standards, including
soundproofing adjacent to airports, within the planning area.  The
comprehensive land use plan shall be reviewed as often as necessary
in order  to accomplish its purposes, but shall not be amended more
than once in any calendar year.   The commission shall submit
a draft copy of each plan, plan update, or plan amendment for
evaluation by the department as to conformance with the department's
Airport Land Use Planning Handbook and may not adopt the plan,
update, or amendment until receiving notice from the department that
plan, update, or amendment confoms to the handbook. 
The commission shall submit a draft copy of each plan, plan update,
or plan amendment to the department.  The commission may not adopt a
plan, plan update, or plan amendment until the department notifies
the commission that the plan, plan update, or plan amendment conforms
to the department's Airport Land Use Planning Handbook. 
   (b) The commission may include, within its plan formulated
pursuant to subdivision (a), the area within the jurisdiction of the
commission surrounding any federal military airport for all of the
purposes specified in subdivision (a).  This subdivision does not
give the commission any jurisdiction or authority over the territory
or operations of any military airport.
   (c) The planning boundaries shall be established by the commission
after appropriate notice and public hearing and consultation with
the involved agencies.
   (d) The commission shall submit to the Aeronautics Program of the
department one copy of the plan  and each amendment to the
plan   , plan update, and plan amendment  .
   (e) If a comprehensive land use plan does not include the matters
required to be under this article, the Aeronautics Program of the
department shall notify and consult with the commission responsible
for the plan. 
  SEC. 4. 
  SEC. 3.   Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government
Code, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act
contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies
and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part
7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.  If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
                    ____ CORRECTIONS Text -- Pages 5 and 6.____