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Santa Monica Airport Faces Critical Ballot Measure

Vote YES for Measure D, NO for Measure LC



Santa Monica Municipal Airport (SMO) is at the center of a battle for its own survival and to keep the city from shortening the runway or closing the airport entirely. A dedicated group of aviators, including EAA members, is leading the fight that has moved to the voting booth next month.



This group is actively working for approval of a local ballot initiative in Santa Monica known as “Measure D.” It is also called “The Voters Decide Initiative” and would prevent any land use changes at the airport without a majority vote of Santa Monica residents. The airport support group has been assisted extensively by AOPA and NBAA, and is continuing wide public outreach on the ballot question.



It’s important for the community: Closing SMO would eliminate 175 businesses and 1,500 jobs on the airport, as well as displacing 269 aircraft based there. It would eliminate a major component of the area’s disaster relief program, especially in an event where Interstates 405 and 10 are disabled and/or traffic-choked.



Over the last 30 years, the city has tried six times to close the airport despite FAA and court rulings that have confirmed the land’s use as an airport. Measure D will make Santa Monica voters the only group that can decide to close the airport. It also prevents the city from stopping fuel sales or refusing to renew hangar leases, as the city has proposed.



The city is pursuing its own initiative, Measure LC, to override that measure and control the airport's future without voter approval. Measure LC, written by the anti-airport City Council, allows immediate development on all land closed to airport uses without voter approval. It encourages partial or full airport closure as soon as possible, allowing the land to be utilized for high-density development.



More information is available through these sources:

Visit the Santa Monica Airport Association website, the SMAA Facebook page, and SMAA's twitter's page. The association is currently seeking volunteers and media contacts to get out their message out to the community.

Santa Monica Voters Decide is on the web at www.smvotersdecide.com. The organization is actively seeking endorsements and donations to further the initiative before the polls open. If you do not live in Santa Monica and cannot vote for Measure D, we encourage you to contact your friends and acquaintances in Santa Monica and urge them to vote YES for Measure D (and NO for Measure LC) in November.

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