sr-031070-8c~~
CITI' OF SANTA MOI°v'ICA ~ ~ 70-C-8
DATE: March 5, 1970
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TO: The Honorable City Council and the Airport Commission '~'~
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FROM: Perry Scott, City Manager
SUBSECT: Airport Master Plan ~~.-, .,
. ,. , ~ ., 1~i0
THIS MUST BE
RETURNED TO THE
EITY~gC~LEP.K~r'~S OFFICE
During the last quarter of 1965 the City Council .approved a PdodifiedFKir~brt
Master Plan which contemplated the continued use of the Municipal Airport
for aviation use. Thereafter, onl~Iarch 28, 1967, the City Council imposed
limitations on the non-emergency landings and takeoffs of jet aircraft via
the adoption of Ordinance "l35 (CCS).
Concurrently with, or immediately thereafter, both the Airport Cemmission
and the City Council adop*.ed a policy of imposing an outright pure jet ban in
each new operations permit issued for operations on the Airport, In each.
instance these policies have been uniformly applied and tivithout exception to
the best knowledge of the administration,
These restrictions on the use of the tLrpori were imposed as the consequence
of complaints from residertiai neighbors of the Air~~ort directed to .both the
noise and the potential haz~sds associated ;Frith living within the P_irport landing
approach and takeoff pattern. It urns observed at that time, as a matter of
opinion, .that:
1. The imposition of flight restrictions would cause the abaxsdonment
of the airport by jet oriented fixed-base operators ir_itialiy, and
2. The inevitable question of the economic feasibility of the con-
tinued operation of a restricted general aviation airport must be
faced.
Individual members of the City Council, as well as the administration, have
since early 1967 continuously expressed the personal opinion that the economic
and environmental problems associated with airport operations would preclude
its continuance beyond the term of the present leases, Therefore, ii urouid be
most appropriate to formally dispose of this issue for t~,e benefit of both the
operators and the residents of the area.
To: The 13onorable City Council
70-C-8
Accordingly, it is recommended that the City Council instruct the
administration to advise each airport tenant in writing that:
1. Existing leases will not be renewed after the current expiration
dates commencing in 1979;
2. Vacancies, to the extent possible, will be filled with temporary
aircraft uses on the same basis; and
3, If vacancies cannot be filled with temporary aircraft uses, they
will be filled with other uses which axe not inconsistent with the
remaining aircraft operations.
page 2
Although, no tenant has a basic legal right to insist upon lease extensions,
failure to provide adequate notice or the continued support of long-term air-
craft use master plan modifications could be misleading. Failure to take
such action formally may well raise an equitable claim on the part of present
tenants (when their present leases expire) that they were not advised in
sufficient time to make other arrangements.
The Airport property consists of 215+ acres with a use distribution as shown
in Exhibit B. Of this total area, only 298, 427 square feet (white area) is
potentially available for current reuse. Even in these cases, reuse potential
is adversely affected by existing uses upon which current leases do not expire
until 1979 -1981.
The 215+ acres of Airport property represents 5°~o to 6°Jo of the total developable
area of the City and is used for (or its use restricted by) general aviation pur-
poses. There are 474 aircraft which consider the Santa Monica Airport their base.
Of this total only 53 (11% of the total} are owned by Santa Monica residents.
During the 1968-69 fiscal year the total net income to the City from Airport
property was $272, 829. This amount was realized from the following sources:
Net income from airport operations including
land and facility rentals $202, 380
Aircraft Assessments (1969-70} .31,471
Possessory interest taxes 15, 970
Sales taxes 13,474
Other taxes 7, 034
State tax 2, 500
Total Annual Net Income $272, 829
To: The Honorable City Couhcil page 3
70-C-8
This annual net income is equal to a return of only $2.91 per
100 square feet of airport area.
By way of contrast, the Olympic Boulevard frontage (south side, Centinela
to Stewart Street) encompasses a total area of 528, 691 square feet (12. 14
acres) which produces a net annual income to the City of $28, 651 from the
following sources: (Exhibit A)
Property taxes (land & improvements) $12, 878
Personal property taxes, 9, 544
Sales taxes 5, 233
Other taxes 996
Total annual net income $28, 651
This annual net income is equal to a return of $5.42 per 100
square feet of the area in which the City has no direct invest-
ment by way of ownership as is the case at the Airport.
The above comparison illustrates the economic problem associated with the
operation of a general aviation airport in a city with a gross city area of only
8 square miles. As an economic matter, Santa Monica can ill afford a.return
(per 100 square feet) from city owned property (equal to 5% of the developable
area of the city) of only 54% of that received from taxes on privately owned
property.
1. in the first instance, the local ownership of aircraft is only
11% of the total;
2. The area devoted to such use is most disproportionate in its
relationship to service for. local citizens or the return to the
local taxpayer; and
3. The employment opportunities afforded are only a fraction of
what could be provided via alternative uses of the land area.
Exhibit C indicates an attractive future development concept which is con-
sistent with the economic needs of the City and most compatible with the
esthetic and environmental qualities found to be rather desirable in any com-
munity. An office park will provide:
1. Desirable esthetic and environmental qualities;
2. A major reservoir of employment opportunities; and
To: The Honorable City council
70-C-8
3. Substantial impro~rement in direct city revenues from the
property.
page 4
Although advance planning is quite necessary, detailed plans 10 years in
advance are rot practical, It is, however, most essential that any Long
term uses of airport land be compatible with an office park development
concept. Accordingly, it is recommended that such instructions be issued
now, as a guide for future planning, by the City Council.
PEI~Y SCOTT
City/ Manage r
PS: j s
cc: City Clerk
City Attorney
Director of Airport
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SANPA Mox1cA MUPTICIPAL A~POam 2/16/70
Color Legead Area Square Feet Acres
1. orange Douglas Lease 735,076 16.8
2. Blue Douglas Lcase 1,529,709 35.1
3. Blue General Airport Area 5,179,28+ 118.9
~. Red Moss (Cloverleaf) 239,579 5.5
5. Green Misc. Operator Leases 864,714 19.$
6. Brown Hotel Area 80,000 1.8
7. White Adm. Bldg. aad Tiedova 240,000 5.5
8. White Lear - Parking Lot 58,427 1.3
9. White (Access RoadS& Slopes) 448,660 10.3
9,375,449 215.0
EXHIBIT B
PUBLIC
IMONTF{LY 90545' 3. F.
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'Jf~ice par[,s, it;spired by ind€as±riai parrs, o~;er bid
torpor a~iot~s lo;~~er rents, more space, and
buildi;~~s often 4aiiorecl to order-al; in a sylvar setiinc~
This Summer, Ceneral Timc Corp.
.will move from dew York City to
the saburbs-rentnrg space in an
office park. Its new building, in High
Ridge Park, on .the edge of Stamford,
Coim., has been specially designed
for its own use.
The efrcular, three-story concrete
stnicture, featuring aroof-top sky-
light clock 25 ft. in diameter, Zr~ill
contain paintings, sculpture, fiirni-
hire, rare rugs, and draperies frmn
all over the world. Even the 19 doors
to executives' offices were specinlly
and-carved by craftsmen abroad.
Ceneral Time doesn't feel that
these luxuries are at all extravagant.
The contractor, F. D. Rich Co., Inc.,
one of the owners of the park, offered
Ceneral Time a special rate under
Business Wee' July 8. 1967
$6 per sq, ft. to get the company to
move its headquarters to the park.
This puts the rent 20~7o below what
it paid in Spew York City. And the
special interior decorating cost sSl~
per sq_ ft, well under the $30 figure
quoted for a standard job in a Park
Avenue o`S-ice tower.
Sai25 pitch. Office parks are the
brainchildren of suburban real es-
tate promoters who were inspired by
the industrial parks that encourage
light industry to migrate to the sub-
urbs. Biit office parks are strictly for
executives and white-collar workers.
Developers claim that the parks
offer tenants escape from the prob-
lems of city locations-high rent,
lack of parking places, and short-
ages of desk space and clerical help.
At the same time, they seek to trans-
plant city amenities. The larger
parks have shopping malts, execu-
tive clubs, restaurants, barber shops,
and beauty parlors.
Advaniag~s~ Rich's method of op-
eration is common among the big
of&ce parl: promoters.
So far, the bulk of their business
has been with the service depart-
ments of downtown eompan}es-
payroll, accounting, and the like, or
with sales and regional offices.
\iow some corporations see office
parks as a place for their hcaclquar-
ters, too. For one thing, they don't
have to become "country squires"-
that is, they don't have to stake their
own claims in suburbia and plow
~riillions of dollars into new build-
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