San Jose - When Santa Clara County Supervisor Pete McHugh said in his State of the County address that the board should look into selling off Reid Hillview Airport, he stirred up an old hornet's nest. The board had defeated a plan to close the facility in 1996 after the Federal Aviation Administration threatened legal action against the county. Such a response could be expected again if McHugh goes through with his plan to study the matter again.
Reid Hillview would likely bring in enough money to take care of a couple of years' worth of budget deficits which stand at over $150 million annually. However, it is a key "reliever" airport in the FAA's regional plan that takes general aviation away from the international fields, Mineta San Jose International and SFO. The loss of the facility would leave 6 hundred planes without a home and the county's other airports, South County and Palo Alto, with little room to house them.
The air field near the Eastridge Mall is what's called a "federally obligated" airport. They have accepted federal money in exchange for agreeing to stay open for 20 years from the time of the last grant. The most recent grant came a couple of years ago when FAA money was provided to help noise abatement.
In an ironic twist, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association had planned to base their national convention at Reid Hillview in November. Bill Dunn, who made a natioanl reputation fighting for RHV (the FAA 2-letter designation), is now President of Airports for the AOPA. He said the last time the convention was held there was in 1996... the last time supervisors considered selling off the airport.
In addition to considering selling the 179 acre site of RHV to developers, McHugh said selling the county fairgrounds must also be examined. Declining attendence has brought about the question as to whether a fair is still a viable event in the Silicon Valley.
McHugh has left town and was unavailable for reaction to the promise of a fight to keep RHV open.
