Huntington Beach : Airport Should Not Be City-Owned, Panel Says

Meadowlark Airport should not be acquired and operated by the city, according to a recommendation passed by the city Planning Commission late Monday night.

It was the only decision the seven-member commission reached during a 5 1/2-hour public hearing attended by more than 300 people, most of them favoring the airport’s closure.

A decision on a plan by airport owners Dick and Art Nerio to develop the 65-acre property into residential units and a shopping center, however, was continued to an Oct. 20 meeting.

The airport, one of only two small airstrips remaining in Orange County and the site of more than a dozen accidents in as many years, has been owned by the Nerio family since 1952. They have sought to replace it with some form of development for about 15 years.

The family now is requesting a change in the property’s land-use designation from low-density residential to planned community in order to build a 15-acre shopping center and hundreds of residential units on the remaining 50 acres.

About 60 speakers addressed the commission, and most said they opposed both the airport and any development beyond single-family homes because of potential traffic.

During the hearing, the commission decided to have the community development staff compile two plans for the 50 acres, one with 600 units and the other with 350 units. Both plans will be presented to the commission at next month’s meeting.