Camarillo, CA – Despite the pause on Ventura County’s Airport Master Plan process, the City of Camarillo is involved in ongoing discussions with the County of Ventura as to the current operation of the Camarillo Airport, to ensure the 1976 Agreement is being upheld.
The City of Camarillo and the County of Ventura entered into an Agreement in 1976 for the operation of the Camarillo Airport. This Agreement, which is available on the City’s website at cityofcamarillo.org/trending, imposes restrictions on the airport operations including, but not limited to: limiting the size of aircraft; limiting the hours of operation; and ensuring that the airport remains a general aviation airport, not a commercial airport.
By way of a letter dated April 13, 2021, the Ventura County Director of Airports invited the City of Camarillo to begin a discussion with the Department of Airports about amending the 1976 Agreement. The City’s position remains that the 1976 Agreement is still valid; and, the City does not have any record that the Agreement has been modified to exclude the restrictions set forth within.
On April 28, 2021, the Camarillo City Council formed an Ad Hoc Committee to review and discuss airport-related operations and issues. Additionally, in March 2020, the City retained Rosales Law Group for legal advice regarding Camarillo airport issues. The Rosales Law Group has special expertise in the area of airport law and they are available to provide legal advice to the City in regard to airport issues.
Despite the Ventura County Director of Airports issuing a public statement on May 26, 2021, that the Airport Master Plan process is being put on pause for approximately one year, the City of Camarillo intends to move full speed ahead on gathering community input and directly communicating with the Department of Airports, City Council, and Board of Supervisors on this matter, to ensure that the Department of Airports upholds the 1976 Agreement.
City staff is expected to outline their proposed community engagement strategy to the Camarillo City Council for consideration at their June 23, 2021, City Council meeting.
A Hot Topics webpage on the Camarillo Airport is available on the City’s website (www.cityofcamarillo.org/trending/) to track the City’s progress on meeting with the Department of Airports on this matter. Additionally, the City will utilize this webpage as a space to inform the community about the status of the County’s Airport Master Plan Update, when that process resumes.
To stay informed on all City communications regarding this project, please sign up for email alerts for “Camarillo Airport Master Plan” at www.cityofcamarillo.org/notifyme.
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