SANTA PAULA : City Takes Step to Buy Land Next to Airport

An ordinance that would allow the city of Santa Paula to acquire two parcels of land that abut the airport was approved by the City Council, officials said Tuesday.

The resolution will be forwarded to the California Transportation Commission, which needs verification of the city’s commitment to establish a safety zone around the airport before it disburses a $250,000 grant it approved for the project last month.

The $250,000 would be used to acquire two homes that were destroyed in 1992 when two light planes collided in midair near the airport runway.

Although two families were inside the houses when the planes collided, no one on the ground was injured. One of the two pilots burned to death after the accident.

After the collision, state officials ordered the city to establish a safety zone around Santa Paula airport, which has for decades been surrounded by dozens of modest homes.

New planning regulations adopted by the City Council after the state mandate do not allow the owners of the two destroyed homes to rebuild.

“The state does not allow the people to move back in because they’ve now declared it open space,” Councilman John Melton said. “It’s a shame we have to relocate the people, but they will be duly compensated.”

Joe Garcia, whose home was destroyed in the crash, was not available for comment Tuesday. But he said last month that he doubted that he would get enough of the $250,000 grant to replace what he lost in the accident.