DATE: September 15, 2026
TO: Mayor and City Council
FROM: Director of Public Works
SUBJECT: Adopt a Resolution Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Ground Lease Agreement with Simmons and Associates for Aircraft Parking Ramp and Taxiway Z Access Area, with the Hayward Executive Airport
RECOMMENDATION
That City Council adopts the attached resolution (Attachment I) authorizing the City Manager to negotiate and execute a Ground Lease Agreement with Simmons and Associates for 23,589 square feet of property at Hayward Executive Airport (HEA), consisting of a Parking Ramp and a Taxiway Z Access Area, for aircraft storage within the Airport Operations Area (AOA).
SUMMARY
The leased premises is a total 23,590 square feet, made up of a 15,804.01 square foot parking ramp and a 7,785.97 square foot Taxiway Z access area. Simmons and Associates previously accessed this area under a Taxiway Access Permit that the City terminated in 2024, after the East Bay Regional Park District Police Department (EBRPD), whose presence had justified the permit, relocated its air operations. A ground lease replaces the permit and brings the arrangement into compliance with Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Order 5190.6C, which governs commercial “through-the-fence” access to airport property. The proposed lease has a ten-year term.
FISCAL IMPACT
This item does not impact the General Fund or Measure C.
Hayward Executive Airport operates as an Enterprise Fund. Under the terms currently negotiated, annual rent for the parking ramp is proposed at an appraised rate of $0.33 per square foot per year, or $5,215.32 per year, subject consumer price index (CPI) adjustment.
The proposed lease has a ten-year term. In addition, rent from the past two-year negotiation period will be amortized over the first five years, so the annual amount due in years one through five will be $7,388.37. In place of rent for the Taxiway Z access area, Simmons and Associates will be responsible for physically maintaining that area. Rent will
be subject to periodic adjustment under the Airport's policy establishing periodic adjustments to land value.
BACKGROUND
On July 21, 1970, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 70-271, approving the Taxiway Access Permit application process, terms and conditions, and fee structure for Airport tenants. On April 7, 1998, the City Council adopted Resolution No. 98-059, approving updated Taxiway Access Permit agreements.
Simmons and Associates held a Taxiway Access Permit for the ramp area in front of its hangar at HEA. The permit had been grandfathered because EBRPD, which provides helicopter-based public safety patrol services to the region, rented hangar space from Simmons and Associates and based its aircraft there.
EBRPD relocated its air operations in 2024. With EBRPD no longer based at the hangar, the circumstance that justified the grandfathered permit no longer applied. On May 21, 2024, Airport staff sent Simmons and Associates a Taxiway Access Permit Termination Letter, ending the permit effective June 30, 2024.
Following termination of the permit, at Simmons’ request, Airport staff began negotiating a ground lease for the ramp area to bring the arrangement into compliance with FAA Order 5190.6C, the FAA's Airport Compliance Manual, which governs commercial access to airport property from land outside the airport boundary.
DISCUSSION
FAA Order 5190.6C governs commercial through-the-fence (TTF) agreements, which allow a business to access an airfield for commercial purposes from property that is not part of the airport. Under this policy, a commercial TTF arrangement is treated as an exception rather than a right. To qualify, the airport sponsor must show the FAA Regional Office that the arrangement preserves the airport's legal control of the airfield, applies the same minimum operating standards used for on-airport tenants, and charges fees equivalent to those charged to on-airport tenants. This requirement supports FAA Grant Assurance 24, Fee and Rental Structure, and 49 U.S.C. Section 47107(a)(13), which require airport sponsors that accept federal grant funding to keep the airport as financially self-sustaining as possible.
Previously, Simmons and Associates accessed the ramp area under a permit, and the circumstance that justified the grandfathered arrangement no longer exists. A ground lease is needed to bring the arrangement into compliance with FAA Order 5190.6C.
The leased premises would consist of the parking ramp (15,804.01 square feet) and the Taxiway Z access area (7,785.97 square feet), for a total of 23,590 square feet. Simmons and Associates will be permitted to use the Parking Ramp for aviation commercial services, and activities, including storage and fueling of aircraft that it owns or operates. Simmons
and Associates would be prohibited from selling fuel to the public and would not be authorized to operate as a fixed base operator (FBO), meaning it could not sell fuel or provide services to based or transient aircraft owned by others. The Taxiway Z access area could be used only for taxiing aircraft to and from Taxiway Z, not for aircraft storage or fueling.
The proposed lease has a ten-year term, and Simmons and Associates would have the right to terminate the lease at any time during that term. Rent would be subject to periodic CPI adjustment under the Airport's standard land value adjustment policy, consistent with other Airport ground leases.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
This lease supports the Airport's compliance with FAA Order 5190.6C, which helps preserve the Airport's ability to generate revenue consistent with federal grant assurance requirements. It also allows Simmons and Associates to continue operating from its existing hangar and ramp area, supporting continued business activity and associated employment at the Airport.
STRATEGIC ROADMAP
This agenda item does not directly relate to any of the priorities in the Council's Strategic Roadmap.
SUSTAINABILITY FEATURES
The Airport is committed to operating in an environmentally responsible manner. Staff will monitor for compliance, but responsible party is Simmons and Associates. Simmons and Associates' use of the leased premises, including fuel storage and handling, complies with applicable state and local environmental requirements.
PUBLIC CONTACT
The agenda and staff report for this item will be posted on the City's website and distributed to interested parties.
NEXT STEPS
If approved, Staff will finalize and execute the ground lease agreement with Simmons and Associates.
Prepared by: Pamela Svrdlin, Airport Operations Supervisor
Reviewed by: Doug McNeeley, Airport Manager
Recommended by: Alex Ameri, Director of Public Works
Approved by:
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Jennifer Ott, City Manager