Watsonville City Council votes to deactivate the Watsonville Airport runaway
WATSONVILLE, Calif. (KION-TV)- UPDATE ON MARCH 20, 2024 AT 2:36 PM- The Watsonville City Council has voted to deactivate the Watsonville Airport runaway.
In a 4-3 vote, the City Council voted to explore the possibility of closing the crosswind runway which the city said would open for more community development.
According to a recent City report, the visibility for a crosswind runway is poor for pilots.
The City Council decided to direct staff to examine what the deactivation of the runaway could mean.
Watsonville City Manager Rene Mendez said that they will work with the Federal Aviation Administration on runway closure process will take a couple of years.
Original Story
The Watsonville Municipal Airport could be shortening their runways that could expand development for residents and business around the airport.
The Watsonville City Council will be discussing the fate of the runway during Tuesday's meeting.
Many people come down to this airport to learn how to fly or even go on to the U.S. Air Force Academy
But, the future of one of the runway is up in the air.
A City report finds one of the runways a safety concern due to visibility issues pilots have faced in the past but now the question for council is whether they should shorten the runway or remove it entirely.
Now the question for the council is whether they should consider to shorten the runway or to remove it entirely.
“In order for us to change anything within the airport we have to go through the process with the FAA," Watsonville City Manager Rene Mendez said. "We have to address all the safety concerns and issues so it just doesn’t happen overnight.”
The runway right now identified as "9-27" which is 4% of the airports operations.
The buena vista project, if the runway was ultimately closed, could bring a maximum of around 43-hundred housing units to the city over 25 years.
“Airports have safety zones around them and a lot of safety are dependent on the runways so if you shift the runway," Mendez said. "It changes the safety zones as you change the safety zones now you can develop more things within the outside of the airport,"
Shortening the runway could also help with additional development along Green Valley Road.
No matter the decision, Mendez says the process will take years to complete.
According to the City, shortening the runway is a two-year project and closing it entirely could take a minimum of four years.
