Section 21670 Of Article 3.5. Airport Land Use Commission From California Public Utilities Code >> Division 9. >> Part 1. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 3.5.
21670
. (a) The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:
(1) It is in the public interest to provide for the orderly
development of each public use airport in this state and the area
surrounding these airports so as to promote the overall goals and
objectives of the California airport noise standards adopted pursuant
to Section 21669 and to prevent the creation of new noise and safety
problems.
(2) It is the purpose of this article to protect public health,
safety, and welfare by ensuring the orderly expansion of airports and
the adoption of land use measures that minimize the public's
exposure to excessive noise and safety hazards within areas around
public airports to the extent that these areas are not already
devoted to incompatible uses.
(b) In order to achieve the purposes of this article, every county
in which there is located an airport which is served by a scheduled
airline shall establish an airport land use commission. Every county,
in which there is located an airport which is not served by a
scheduled airline, but is operated for the benefit of the general
public, shall establish an airport land use commission, except that
the board of supervisors of the county may, after consultation with
the appropriate airport operators and affected local entities and
after a public hearing, adopt a resolution finding that there are no
noise, public safety, or land use issues affecting any airport in the
county which require the creation of a commission and declaring the
county exempt from that requirement. The board shall, in this event,
transmit a copy of the resolution to the Director of Transportation.
For purposes of this section, "commission" means an airport land use
commission. Each commission shall consist of seven members to be
selected as follows:
(1) Two representing the cities in the county, appointed by a city
selection committee comprised of the mayors of all the cities within
that county, except that if there are any cities contiguous or
adjacent to the qualifying airport, at least one representative shall
be appointed therefrom. If there are no cities within a county, the
number of representatives provided for by paragraphs (2) and (3)
shall each be increased by one.
(2) Two representing the county, appointed by the board of
supervisors.
(3) Two having expertise in aviation, appointed by a selection
committee comprised of the managers of all of the public airports
within that county.
(4) One representing the general public, appointed by the other
six members of the commission.
(c) Public officers, whether elected or appointed, may be
appointed and serve as members of the commission during their terms
of public office.
(d) Each member shall promptly appoint a single proxy to represent
him or her in commission affairs and to vote on all matters when the
member is not in attendance. The proxy shall be designated in a
signed written instrument which shall be kept on file at the
commission offices, and the proxy shall serve at the pleasure of the
appointing member. A vacancy in the office of proxy shall be filled
promptly by appointment of a new proxy.
(e) A person having an "expertise in aviation" means a person who,
by way of education, training, business, experience, vocation, or
avocation has acquired and possesses particular knowledge of, and
familiarity with, the function, operation, and role of airports, or
is an elected official of a local agency which owns or operates an
airport.
(f) It is the intent of the Legislature to clarify that, for the
purposes of this article, that special districts, school districts,
and community college districts are included among the local agencies
that are subject to airport land use laws and other requirements of
this article.