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(April 25) The trees lining the runway at Rancho Murieta Airport must be cut by the end of May, the state says, or daytime operations will be stopped. Night operations were halted last year due to the trees. (Click photo for larger image.)

State says airport trees must be cut by May 31 or all flights will be halted

Updated Friday, April 26, 2002 -- new information in red

If the trees lining the runway at the Rancho Murieta Airport aren’t trimmed or removed by May 31, the airport’s daytime operations permit will be revoked.

That’s the word from the state Transportation Department’s Division of Aeronautics, which is responsible for enforcing Federal Aviation Administration rules.

The airport’s night operations permit was revoked last year because of the trees, which have been judged hazardous to air traffic. About half the offending trees are on airport property and the other half are on adjoining county parkland.

“The use of the airport is restricted because of the trees,” said Caltrans Safety Officer Jim Michel. “It has an adverse effect on the facility. We don’t like to see that.”

He said Caltrans has been working with the county and the airport, but the bottom line is, “They have until the end of May” to cut down as many as 43 trees and to trim about 30 others to meet the FAA requirements.

Earlier this week, county parks Deputy Director Jill Ritzman said the airport and the county expected to receive a letter within a few days from Caltrans stating the deadline. The airport is owned by the estate of Fred Anderson, who died in 1997. The facility is up for sale and it is rumored there are serious talks being held with a buyer.

Representatives of the airport and the Anderson estate did not return calls for this story.

Ritzman said the trees have been an issue since 1997, when the county and the airport considered a plan to trim some trees and place lighting around others.

The plan went nowhere because of the cost to the airport. “It’s not a new issue," Michel said. "It goes back into the '70s. They’ve just been getting by.” The 3,800-foot runway was built 30 years ago, the first piece of the development of Rancho Murieta.

In 1997, the entire cost of the clear zone project was considered to be the airport’s responsibility. Now the expense, estimated at between $60,000 and $70,000, would be shared by the county and the airport.

The county’s obligation was established after county counsel was asked if Parks was obligated to trim the trees and, according to Ritzman, the response was, “It’s required by law not to impede the clear zone.”

“We’re moving forward,” Ritzman said. “This is not a discretionary project. It’s mandatory.”

She said Caltrans would allow a variance for landmark trees like a prominent 200-year-old oak, but the county would be liable if an accident occurred. A natural resource specialist will study how many trees should remain to provide wildlife habitat and additional oak trees will be planted beyond the clear zone, she said.

“If we don’t take down the trees, it’s very much an impact to that community,” from a use standpoint and also economically, Ritzman explained.

Mike Maloney, a Rancho Murieta resident, did a survey of the airport operation recently.

He found nine businesses operating there. According to his research, they generate more than $2 million in yearly revenue. Maloney, a retired Air Force pilot, bases his own flight instruction and sightseeing business at the airport.

Ritzman said the parks department is in the process of locating funding for the project. She said the matter will go before the Board of Supervisors 10:45 a.m. Tuesday, April 30.