Mayor Kevin McKeown has accepted an offer from Reps. Ted Lieu and Karen Bass to facilitate a meeting with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Santa Monica is about to regain control over part of the airport land and the City is exploring option for limiting uses on the site. Many residents are deeply opposed to continued operations at the airport, citing potential environmental impacts of aircraft operations, the danger of aircraft operating close to homes and specific quality of life impacts due to jet operations.
The City has a contentious legal history with the FAA and McKeown acknowledged multiple lawsuits, including two still ongoing, while stating he is happy to meet with the federal agency. However, he also noted past meetings have ended without resolving any of the conflicts.
"In recent years, City representatives met with FAA officials many times to try to resolve our differences … So far, however, none of those efforts has been productive," said McKeown in his official response to the representatives' offer.
