Quick Take
A Santa Cruz County judge sided with the Watsonville Pilots Association, finding that the City of Watsonville violated state aviation safety and environmental review guidelines when elected officials approved a 21-unit housing development near the city’s airport in 2021.
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A Santa Cruz County judge is siding with the Watsonville Pilots Association, determining that the City of Watsonville violated a state aviation safety law and environmental review guidelines when the city council approved a 21-unit housing development near the city’s airport in 2021.
The lawsuit has since stalled the housing development from moving forward, and continues to be used for a steel fabrication business.
The pilots association filed a lawsuit in 2021 against the city following the approval of a 21-unit housing development across the street from the Watsonville Municipal Airport at 547 Airport Blvd. The parcel of land is located within the airport’s safety zones — areas designed to protect people and property on the ground near a runway. These safety zones usually prevent new construction from happening in those areas.
According to the Feb. 3 ruling, Judge Timothy Schmal found that the city failed to comply with the State Aeronautics Act — a law that regulates air safety and land-use compatibility — and undermined the California Environmental Quality Act.
The city had erred in preparing a mitigated negative declaration, which is a report that states a project will not have a significant impact on the environment, rather than preparing a full environmental review. Additionally, the court found that the report insufficiently analyzed the noise and safety impacts for residents who live and work near the airport.
Analysis of the airport’s safety impacts were “conclusory at best,” according to court documents. City staff primarily relied on a 2018 noise study that didn’t measure impacts related to the housing development.
Staff also failed to incorporate mandatory state airport safety standards, found in the California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook, into its general plan, which is required by state law and by earlier court rulings against the city, said the court.
Per the 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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