Advisory Board: Airport Land Use Commission
Subject: Watsonville Pilots Association vs. City of Watsonville
Presenter: Jamar Stamps, ALUC staff
Contact: (925) 655-2917
INTRODUCTION
In August 2021, the Watsonville Pilots Association (WPA) filed a lawsuit against the City of Watsonville (City) after the city council approved a 21-unit Townhome Project (Project) near the Watsonville Municipal Airport. The WPA challenged the City's approvals (adoption of a mitigated negative declaration (MND) and zoning and general plan amendments). The Court agreed with WPA in a February 3, 2026 ruling (Exhibit A), concluding the City approved a project based on a development entitlement process that did not comply with the State Aeronautics Act (SAA).
BACKGROUND
State Aeronautics Act
The SAA (Public Utilities Code (PUC) sections 21001 et seq.), administered by the California Department of Transportation, Division of Aeronautics, mandates the Division establish guidelines to assist municipalities with airport land use planning. The California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook (Handbook) serves as those guidelines.
The SAA also requires every county with a public use airport to establish an Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC). However, two alternatives are available to counties:
1) Alternative Process counties: If the county conducts appropriate hearings and adopts a resolution finding no noise, public safety or land use impacts exist, they can declare the county exempt from the ALUC requirement.
2) No Procedure counties: If the county has only one public use airport owned by a city, the county and affected city may adopt the necessary Handbook elements into their planning documents (i.e., general plan, specific plans, etc.). Said planning documents must be submitted to the Division of Aeronautics.
Santa Cruz County, which contains the City of Watsonville, is the only No Procedure county due to a 1994 amendment to the SAA that modified the requirement for all counties to...
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