The Airport Committee, at their September 24, 2012, meeting, directed Airports staff to schedule the use of the Mariposa Community Benefits Fund for the full Board of Supervisor’s consideration.
On December 4, 2012, the Board of Supervisors authorized the Department of Conservation and Development (DCD) to undertake a General Plan Amendment (GPA) study for the Byron Airport.
The Board of Supervisors, on December 4, 2012, authorized use of a portion of the Mariposa Energy Project Community Benefits Fund to perform the GPA study for Byron Airport.
The Byron Airport Master Plan, approved in 2005, identified a diversity of aviation and aviation-related land uses for the long-term build-out of the Airport. To fully implement the Airport Master Plan, it is necessary to undertake a GPA to allow for the range of contemplated land uses. The GPA requires an environmental analysis pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before it can be considered for approval. The GPA process is being performed by DCD staff in collaboration with Airports staff.
On April 8, 2015, DCD staff issued a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the Byron Airport Development Program and CEQA Analysis. Prospective contractors were given until May 8, 2015, to provide proposals. Two proposals were received.
On July, 1, 2015, the Airport Committee had a general discussion of the environmental process, RFP responses received, project cost, and anticipated project schedule.
On August 18, 2015, the Board of Supervisors approved a $180,545 contract between Contra Costa County and Dudek, Inc. to prepare the environmental impact report (EIR) for the Byron Airport GPA.
On April 27, 2016, the Airport Committee had a general discussion regarding the project and the progress of the environmental review. Staff and Committee members expressed dissatisfaction with the progress to date.
In the weeks following the April 2016 meeting, staff of DCD and Airports and the consultant, Dudek, had several email exchanges and phone calls to determine why the environmental review was not proceeding as originally anticipated. The consultant indicated they had difficulty formulating an acceptable project description, which forms the basis for the environmental review, because:
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The Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (ALUCP) predates the 2005 Byron Airport Master Plan and does not accurately reflect proposed aviation activities and proposed non-aviation development.
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The ALUCP policies for Byron Airport are overly restrictive compared to those for Buchanan Airport and relative to current guidance per the California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook published by Caltrans.
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While ALUCPs generally do not apply to airports themselves, the 2005 Master Plan specifically states that the policies and regulations of the ALUCP are applicable to the airport property, thereby artificially limiting what can occur on Airport property.
Staff and the consultant determined that the best course of action would be to expand the scope of the current environmental review to include updating the portions of the ALUCP pertaining to Byron Airport. While this would extend the project timeline and add costs, the final product would be a General Plan, zoning, ALUCP, and Master Plan for Byron Airport that were consistent and compatible.
On July 20, 2016, the Airport Committee reviewed the revised scope of work and directed staff to prepare a contract amendment for approval by the Board of Supervisors.
On March 8, 2017, the consultant presented the Airport Committee with updated development scenarios for Byron Airport. These scenarios are the basis for the project description in the EIR. In the months following the Airport Committee meeting, DCD and Airports staff had additional meetings regarding the ALUCP update and the project’s interplay with the East Contra Costa County Habitat Conservation Plan. This led to further refinements of the project description.
With the project description finalized, on September 20, 2017, DCD issued the Notice of Preparation (NOP), which is the first formal step in the EIR process. The NOP portion of the process provides an opportunity for public agencies and the general public to comment on the scope of the environmental analysis to be included in the draft EIR (DEIR). The NOP portion of the process was completed in October 2017.
Since September 2017, Airport staff has been working with Caltrans regarding the airport classification (rural versus suburban) applied to Byron Airport. This classification impacts the intensity of the desired list of allowable aviation and aviation-related development which could negatively impact the long-term airport economic viability. Classifying Byron as a suburban airport would be more consistent with the Federal Aviation Administration’s designation of it as a reliever airport and with the long-term build out as detailed in its Master Plan. However, Byron Airport is surrounded by land outside the Urban Limit Line, which gives the perception that the airport should be classified as rural. The EIR will include analysis that covers either classification whereby suburban would be the highest development scenario.
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