Two recent legal decisions have reaffirmed Santa Monica’s ability to shutter its local airport at the end of 2028.
In January 2017, the city and the Federal Aviation Administration entered into a Settlement Agreement that allowed Santa Monica to immediately shorten its airport’s runway. The agreement also ensured Santa Monica remained committed to operate the airport in accordance with certain FAA regulations and gave the City permission to close the airport permanently after December 31, 2028.
One day after the Settlement Agreement and proposed Consent Decree were filed, two local resident groups moved to intervene and oppose the proposed Consent Decree, which would prompt a legal battle that only recently came to an end when a federal district court in Washington granted a motion by the FAA to dismiss the case due to a lack of jurisdiction earlier this month.
“The district court held that because the plaintiffs had the opportunity to intervene to challenge the Consent Decree in the action in federal court in Los Angeles in which that Consent Decree was issued (though they failed to do so), the D.C. court had no jurisdiction to entertain the Plaintiffs’ challenge,” city leaders said in a news release Tuesday, which mentioned the D.C. district court’s decision follows an Aug. 24, 2020 order by the United States Supreme Court that denied a petition for review filed by Barry Rosen.
Rosen is a pilot and aircraft owner who used the Santa Monica airport, and in Fall 2017, he filed an action in federal court in Los Angeles against the FAA and the City in an effort to invalidate the Consent Decree. On July 5, 2018, the district court dismissed the complaint for lack of standing because Rosen had failed to allege any concrete injury he had suffered flowing from the actions of the FAA and City. On January 3, 2019, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal, so Rosen filed a petition seeking review by the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court denied that petition on Aug. 24, 2020, bringing the litigation to an end.
“These decisions reaffirm the continuing validity of the Consent Decree, which provides clear legal authority for Santa Monica to close the airport after December 31, 2028,” said Interim City Attorney George S. Cardona. “We are pleased with the courts’ rejections of these challenges to the Consent Decree, and we will continue to defend against any similar challenges.”
