Owner Says Airport Will Stay Open : Agua Dulce: Jim Annin cites the depressed real estate market as contributing to his decision not to sell.

Temporarily settling a decade-old local debate, the owner of the Agua Dulce Air Park announced Friday he will continue to operate the airstrip rather than sell it for private development.

Owner Jim Annin said he will run the air park “as long as it’s profitable,” surprising longtime observers who believed the facility was destined to shut down.

“The only thing we can say is it’s not going away,” said Annin. “I think the county needs an airport in this area, in case of an emergency.”

The runway will be cleared of weeds and resurfaced within four weeks, and negotiations are proceeding with a management firm to handle the air park’s daily operations and develop new businesses there, Annin said.

Annin, who previously sought to subdivide the property into 10-acre lots for 19 single-family homes, said the region’s depressed real estate market contributed to his decision to not sell the property.

Los Angeles County officials this week abandoned a proposal to purchase the Agua Dulce Air Park. They heeded an advisory election held in March, in which two-thirds of the 835 voters opposed a county purchase of 70 acres of the site for use as a general aviation airport.

County ownership has been discussed for years, causing heated debates between residents who don’t want the airport to expand and pilots who don’t want it to disappear. Pilots said county control was the only way to ensure the airport would continue to operate, but those living nearby feared it would bring more planes, traffic and noise.

Stewart Aleshire, a strong supporter of a county purchase of the airport, said Annin’s decision was good news for pilots.

“It’s a surprise to me,” Aleshire said.

He remained wary, however, noting that Annin could still choose to sell the property in the future.

Annin acknowledged the air park won’t be able to stay in business by relying on fees from the handful of planes that fly there each day. He hopes the film industry will be interested in using the site.

There are no plans to reopen an abandoned restaurant that is located on the property.