(a)
The Legislature hereby finds and declares that:
(1)
It is in the public interest to provide for the orderly development of each public use airport in this state and the area surrounding these airports so as to promote the overall goals and objectives of the California airport noise standards adopted pursuant to Section 21669 and to prevent the creation of new noise and safety problems.
(2)
It is the purpose of this article to protect public health, safety, and welfare by ensuring the orderly expansion of airports and the adoption of land use measures that minimize the public’s exposure to excessive noise and safety hazards within areas around public airports to the extent that these areas are not already devoted to incompatible uses.
(b)
In order to achieve the purposes of this article, every county in which there is located an airport which is served by a scheduled airline shall establish an airport land use commission. Every county, in which there is located an airport which is not served by a scheduled airline, but is operated for the benefit of the general public, shall establish an airport land use commission, except that the board of supervisors of the county may, after consultation with the appropriate airport operators and affected local entities and after a public hearing, adopt a resolution finding that there are no noise, public safety, or land use issues affecting any airport in the county which require the creation of a commission and declaring the county exempt from that requirement. The board shall, in this event, transmit a copy of the resolution to the Director of Transportation. For purposes of this section, “commission” means an airport land use commission. Each commission shall consist of seven members to be selected as follows:
(1)
Two representing the cities in the county, appointed by a city selection committee comprised of the mayors of all the cities within that county, except that if there are any cities contiguous or adjacent to the qualifying airport, at least one representative shall be appointed therefrom. If there are no cities within a county, the number of representatives provided for by paragraphs (2) and (3) shall each be increased by one.
(2)
Two representing the county, appointed by the board of supervisors.
(3)
Two having expertise in aviation, appointed by a selection committee comprised of the managers of all of the public airports within that county.
(4)
One representing the general public, appointed by the other six members of the commission.
(c)
Public officers, whether elected or appointed, may be appointed and serve as members of the commission during their terms of public office.
(d)
Each member shall promptly appoint a single proxy to represent him or her in commission affairs and to vote on all matters when the member is not in attendance. The proxy shall be designated in a signed written instrument which shall be kept on file at the commission offices, and the proxy shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing member. A vacancy in the office of proxy shall be filled promptly by appointment of a new proxy.
(e)
A person having an “expertise in aviation” means a person who, by way of education, training, business, experience, vocation, or avocation has acquired and possesses particular knowledge of, and familiarity with, the function, operation, and role of airports, or is an elected official of a local agency which owns or operates an airport.
(f)
It is the intent of the Legislature to clarify that, for the purposes of this article, that special districts, school districts, and community college districts are included among the local agencies that are subject to airport land use laws and other requirements of this article.