Board moves to FAA‑approved hangar rates, removes CPI step; aviation stakeholders warn of affordability concerns

The Humboldt County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 4 amended the county’s 2025 fee schedule for airport hangar rents, directing staff to remove a planned CPI escalation and to set hangar rental rates at the levels recommended in the Aviation Management Consulting Group (AMCG) study that was reviewed with the FAA. The motion passed 4–1.

The move responds to sustained public comment from pilots, flight instructors and hangar tenants who said the AMCG study used comparables that do not reflect Humboldt County’s facilities and services, and that steep rent increases would threaten flight training, local aviation businesses and general aviation utilities the county relies on for disaster response.

County staff explained the background: an AMCG rate study completed in 2020 was reviewed and accepted by the FAA and formed the basis for a multi‑year, phased implementation of new aeronautical rates. The FAA previously found deficiencies in the county’s rate structure; staff negotiated incremental increases with the FAA. The current board action removes a CPI escalation clause and brings all hangar rates to the AMCG/FAA-approved amounts immediately, eliminating the CPI element the department had not implemented in earlier years. County staff said that choosing to set rates below the AMCG/FAA guidance could jeopardize entitlement and discretionary Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grant funding (staff cited a potential $1.2 million exposure at ACV if rates were set below FAA‑approved levels).

Staff estimated the immediate revenue effect of the board’s amendment in the current fiscal year at a reduction of approximately $55,876 compared with the full CPI‑adjusted schedule; they proposed the county could backfill the difference with a general fund transfer and that a formal ordinance (requiring a four‑fifths vote) would follow with a supplemental budget request. Staff also noted that hangar facilities at some airports are in fair-to-poor condition and that the aviation department is assembling condition assessments and repair/replacement cost estimates (roof replacement and restroom work were cited as examples.)

More than a dozen pilots and flight trainers addressed the board in favor of a pause or a reduced approach to rate increases. Speakers said Humboldt’s airports lack many of the amenities used as comps in the AMCG study — pilot lounges, fixed‑base operators, towers — and that previous rate increases had already priced some aviation activity out of the county. Airport users urged the county to prioritize reinvesting rent revenue directly into hangar maintenance and to ensure rates support flight training and air ambulance access. The aviation advisory committee and multiple pilots asked that staff conduct additional, local comparables and that the county direct any required general fund offset to a short-term revenue gap rather than permanent subsidy.

After discussion the board voted 4–1 to amend the fee schedule as described and to direct staff to prepare the ordinance and a supplemental budget request to offset the one-year revenue loss; staff said they would return with the ordinance and supplemental budget (a four‑fifths vote will be required for the ordinance).