Draft Master Plan Information

Next Steps

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 (Chapter 5, page 5-6 through 5-8)

Environmental Review

Environmental review under the provisions of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) will be required before this plan can be adopted. It is anticipated that an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) will be required.

It is also anticipated that an Environmental Assessment (EA) will need to be prepared under the provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), although it is also possible that an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) may be required. This determination is up to the FAA.

Sonoma County General Plan 2020 Air Transportation Element (Draft)

Sonoma County is currently in the process of updating its County General Plan ("Sonoma County General Plan 2020") to provide policy guidelines for the unincorporated areas of the county to direct growth and development to the year 2020. Included in the General Plan update process is an updated General Plan Air Transportation Element (ATE). A review of the Public Hearing Draft 2020 Air Transportation Element (undated) indicates that virtually all of the commuter and scheduled airline service assumptions, and the goals and objectives used in the 1992 ATE have been carried forward with the exception of the 2005 date, which has been changed to 2020.

The currently adopted ATE had projected certain activity levels for 2005 based on aircraft fleet mix and boarding load factors developed in 1992. Since then many things have changed in the airline industry. As a result, the ATE must be amended. For example, the 15-passenger commuter airliners and 50-passenger regional jets used as the bases for the ATE projections will not likely ever see substantial service at the Sonoma County Airport.

Similarly, the definition of a commuter airliner set forth in the ATE is not consistent with current terminology. The ATE classifies any commercial aircraft used in scheduled intrastate service in light of current industry practices as a commuter airline. This means that any aircraft, including those with as many as 135 passenger seats and capable of using the airport, used in intrastate service would be classified as a commuter airline. This definition also needs to be reevaluated.

For reasons of consistency, the assumptions developed in the Sonoma County Airport Master Plan Update and the 2020 Sonoma County General Plan Update must be the same. The ATE should be thoroughly reviewed to ensure that any assumptions or other information projected to the year 2020 are consistent with the operational realities of the Airport and current airline needs.

Comprehensive Airport Land Use Plan

In January 2001, the Sonoma County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) adopted the Comprehensive Airport Land Use Plan (CALUP) Update for Sonoma County. The plan presents the ALUC's noise, safety and airspace policies for the Sonoma County airports, including STS. The safety zones in this plan were defined to encompass areas that are regularly overflown at and below traffic pattern altitude. Noise policies were linked to the CNEL 55dB noise contour produced for the plan. Airspace policies were tied to the airspace surfaces defined in Federal Aviation Regulations Part 77.

The written policies in the Comprehensive Airport Land Use Plan Update are consistent with the guidance contained in the California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook (December 1993 edition). However, the Handbook was updated in 2002 and its safety zone configurations were revised.

For this reason alone the CALUP should be updated. State ALUC law requires that the draft airport master plan be reviewed by the ALUC for a consistency determination. Because this Master Plan proposes changing the lengths of Runways 1-19 and 14-32, and the fact that the CALUP safety zones are outdated, the CALUP Airport Noise and Safety Zones Map for the Sonoma County Airport should be revised.