“Provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment” DIVISION OF AERONAUTICS - M.S. #40
1120 N STREET
P. O. BOX 942874
SACRAMENTO , CA 94274-0001
PHONE (916) 654- 4959
FAX (916) 653- 9531
TTY 711
www.dot.ca.gov
October 1, 2024
Laura Maurer Electronically Sent: [email protected] Planner, General Plan Team
City of San José
200 E. Santa Clara Street
San José, CA 95113
Re: File No. GPT24-001, Proposed Text Amendment of the Envision San José 2040 General Plan and the Diridon Station Area Plan including a partial overrule of the Airport Land Use Commission-adopted AIA for San José Mineta International Airport.
Dear Ms. Maurer:
One of the goals of the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Division of Aeronautics (Division), is to assist cities, counties, and Airport Land Use Commissions (ALUC) in the development and implementation of policies that protect the safety and general welfare of their communities where aeronautical activities take place. We encourage collaboration with our partners in the planning process and thank the City of San José (City) for including us in the review of the proposed overrule of the Santa Clara Airport Land Use Commission.
On September 6
th, 2024, the Division received an email that included the Draft Resolution declaring an intent to overrule the ALUC’s August 28th, 2024, inconsistency determination for the proposed Envision San José 2040 General Plan Text and Map Amendments (GPT24-001) and Diridon Station Area Plan Specific Plan Amendments including a partial overrule of the Airport Land Use Commission-adopted Airport Influence Area (AIA) for San José Mineta International Airport in response to recent amendments to the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (ALUCP) for San José Mineta International Airport (SJC).
The Division has reviewed the proposed findings provided by the City and the Staff Report from the ALUC dated August 28
th, 2024. The Division supports the City’s decision to conduct a partial overrule of the Santa Clara Airport Land Use Commission’s adopted noise contours and the resultant AIA identified in the March 27, 2024, Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan for San Jose Mineta International Airport. This action is based on the finding that the ALUC did not utilize an FAA-approved Airport Master Plan as the basis for the ALUCP update in accordance with Public Utilities Code (PUC) Section 21675 and Section 2.2.6 of the 2011 California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook (Handbook), PG 2-5.
Ms. Laura Maurer, Planner, General Plan Team
October 1, 2024
“Provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment” In addition to the City’s findings, the justification for the partial overrule is supported by the Handbook, which provides guidance for developing and maintaining an ALUCP. This decision is also informed by the relevant statutes from the PUC Section 21001 et seq., related to the State Aeronautics Act (SAA).
The City argues the following in support of their decision to overrule:
Finding #1: “The City is proposing to utilize the noise contours contained within the most recent SJC Airport Master Plan adopted in 2020. Those noise contours are based on aviation activity data accepted by both federal (FAA) and state (Caltrans Aero) agencies with subject matter expertise. This approach is consistent with both the Act and the Handbook, with the latter an adopted Airport Master Plan as “one of the preferred sources” for noise contours.”
PUC 21675(a) states:
The commission's airport land use compatibility plan shall include and shall be based on a long-range master plan or an airport layout plan, as determined by the Division of Aeronautics of the Department of Transportation, that reflects the anticipated growth of the airport during at least the next 20 years.
The key components of the 2020 SJC Airport Master Plan (AMP) used for an ALUCP update include an FAA-approved airport layout plan, as well as existing and projected airport operations activity data. According to PUC 21674(e), the commission's powers do not extend to jurisdiction over airport operations. By conducting a separate study that applied a 50% increase to operational numbers for the noise contour analysis used to define the AIA in the March 2024 ALUCP, the ALUC has acted outside the authority granted by the PUC.
The Division recognizes that the City conducted a separate validation study with a notable aviation consultant, HTNB, to ensure that the noise contours of the AMP were reflective and in alignment with actual airport activity data. The study by HTNB confirmed that the AMP activity forecast was closely tracking actual operations activity data. These results confirm that the operations projected in the 2020 AMP are an accurate projection and can be confidently used for airport land use compatibility planning.
Finding #2: “The City has repeatedly notified the ALUC that its noise contours for SJC are unsubstantiated due to the improper use of an inflation factor for aviation activity growth, and thereby result in the imposition of development restrictions on an overbroad geographic area.
The ALUC has not corrected the identified deficiencies in its noise contours, and has not modified its approach based on detailed input provided by both the City and Caltrans Aero.”
The Division agrees that the ALUCP was not developed using the airport operations data from the FAA-approved 2020 AMP. As a result, the AIA defined in the March 2024 ALUCP is inaccurate.
Finding #3: “The City submitted two letters to the ALUC dated March 14, 2023 and July 5, 2023, representing a dutiful effort by the City to coordinate with the ALUC on its development of the SJC ALUCP, while identifying flaws in the noise contours depicted in the ALUCP and referring Ms. Laura Maurer, Planner, General Plan Team
October 1, 2024
“Provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment” the ALUC to the corresponding accurate data that should have been used to delineate the SJC noise contours in the ALUCP.”
The Division would like to highlight the following points from the PUC and the Handbook:
The Handbook identifies the geographic boundary of the ALUCP as the airport influence area.
Per the Handbook, Section 2.2.4 Airport Influence Area, PG 2-4, “ALUCs establish the AIA after a hearing and in consultation with the involved agencies, as required by PUC Section 21675(c). ALUCs sometimes describe the AIA as the referral area (as it is the area within which projects are potentially referred to the ALUC).”
Additionally, Section 2.2.7 of the Handbook, PG 2-8, provides that PUC Section 21675(c) “requires formal consultation between ALUCs and affected local jurisdictions when an AIA is established. Although the statute does not distinguish between establishing and amending an AIA, consultation is strongly recommended when the AIA is amended.”
The Division strongly supports collaboration between the City and the ALUC to revise the AIA and noise contours based on an FAA-approved Airport Master Plan, whether it is the 2020 version or an updated one.
In addition to these findings, a review by the Division of the Negative Declaration of the SJC ALUCP and AIA Amendment was provided to the County ALUC on March 7 th, 2024, strongly
encouraging that the ALUC utilize the forecasting provided in the 2020 SJC AMP to ensure mandated compatibility planning objectives set forth in the SAA and the Handbook.
PUC Section 21675.1(f) provides: If a city or county overrules the commission pursuant to subdivision(d) with respect to a publicly owned airport that the city or county does not operate, the operator of the airport is not liable for damages to property or personal injury resulting from the city’s or county’s decision to proceed with the action, regulation, or permit.
Pursuant to PUC Section 21676(a), the Division and ALUC comments shall be included in the public record of any decision to overrule the ALUC. If you have questions or we may be of further assistance, please contact Matthew Friedman at [email protected].
Sincerely,
Matthew Fried
man
Chief, Office of Aviation Planning
Division of Aeronautics
Ms. Laura Maurer, Planner, General Plan Team
October 1, 2024
“Provide a safe and reliable transportation network that serves all people and respects the environment” c: Matthew Friedman, Chief, Office of Aviation Planning, Caltrans, [email protected]
Marlon Flournoy, Acting Division Chief, Division of Aeronautics, Caltrans, [email protected]
Cameron Oakes, Deputy District Director, Caltrans, [email protected] Carl Hilbrants, Senior Planner, County of Santa Clara Department of Planning and Development, [email protected]
Laurie Suttmeier, Manager, Planning & Programming Branch, Federal Aviation Administration, [email protected]