Surf City Should Charge for, Not Ban, Aerial Ads
Re “Sky Is the Limit for Beach Ads, Cities Say,” Aug. 12:
If the Huntington Beach City Council thinks it can win a case against the FAA, it obviously hasn’t done its homework. There have been many cases in which a town or municipality has tried to alter minimum altitudes for aircraft flying over the town, only to find, after spending big bucks on legal fees, that the FAA and no one else has jurisdiction over “controlled airspace.” Gee, I wonder why it’s called “controlled” space?
For a city that is always looking for revenue, it seems to me Huntington Beach is missing a sure thing by not allowing banner flyovers and charging an annual fee for a “flyover permit.” At the moment, the council is looking to make up more than $6 million in lost revenue, and Aug. 1, the city administrator presented the council a proposed budget with $3.5 million in cuts. So, don’t think that the council doesn’t need the money.
As for the noise factor, complainers can turn their attention to the Huntington Beach Police Department’s “no tail rotor” helicopter that is supposed to be--but really isn’t--quieter than a conventional helicopter with a tail rotor.
L.E. Culver
Huntington Beach
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