Quick Take
Watsonville officials have rescinded approval of a 21-unit townhome development across from the municipal airport after a judge ruled that the city violated state airport safety and environmental laws in approving the development.
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The Watsonville City Council has rescinded the approval of a 21-unit townhome development across from the city’s airport, following a court ruling that found the city had violated state airport safety and environmental laws.
Tuesday’s decision also repealed the project’s mitigated negative declaration — a report that states that a project will not have a significant impact on the environment — as well as a special-use permit and changes to the city’s zoning overlay and general plan, according to City Attorney Samantha Zutler.
In February, a Santa Cruz County judge sided with the Watsonville Pilots Association after determining that the city had violated state aviation safety law and environmental review guidelines in approving the housing project in 2021.
Zutler told city councilmembers Tuesday that the city had been served with a court order in early July to take corrective actions by a Sept. 8 deadline.
The city council had approved the development, which would have consisted of a mix of duplex and triplex buildings, in 2021. The parcel of land, located at 547 Airport Blvd., on the city’s north side, is directly across from Watsonville Municipal Airport.
Shortly after the city council approved the development, the pilots association filed a lawsuit against the city, arguing that the city did not comply with the State Aeronautics Act, which regulates air safety and land-use compatibility, and that it undermined the California Environmental Quality Act.
The lawsuit had stalled the project, leading to its building permits expiring and the homes never being built, according to Zutler. The Airport Boulevard property continues to be used for a steel fabrication business.
The county court sided with the pilots association’s arguments and found that the city had erred in preparing a mitigated negative declaration, rather than preparing a full environmental analysis for the project. Additionally, the court found that the report insufficiently analyzed the noise and safety impacts for residents who work and live near the airport.
The city’s analysis of the airport’s safety impacts were “conclusory at best,” according to court documents. City staff had primarily relied on a 2018 noise study that did not measure impacts related to the housing development.
Staff had also failed to incorporate mandatory state airport safety standards, found in the California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook, into the city’s general plan, which is required by state law and by an earlier court ruling against the city, according to court documents.
Per the court ruling, the City of Watsonville is not allowed to approve future development in airport safety zones unless it updates its general plan to be compliant with state law or an airport land-use commission is established.
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