City updates planning commission on Paso Robles spaceport effort, airport master plan and university partnerships

Paul Sloan, the city’s economic development manager, briefed the El Paso de Robles Planning Commission on Sept. 9 about progress on the Paso Robles spaceport effort, the airport master plan update, industry and university partnerships, and recent federal funding developments.

Sloan said the city is pursuing a parallel path of an updated airport master plan and eventual Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) spaceport licensing. He told commissioners the city’s airport master plan update — a process that typically occurs every seven to 10 years but had not been done in about 20 years — began in March and will run about 18 months. Sloan said the master plan update costs roughly $500,000 and Congressmember Panetta secured funding to help cover that amount.

The spaceport work includes partnerships with Cal Poly, specialized consultants and engineers, and participation in the Global Spaceport Alliance. Sloan described recent activity with Dawn Aerospace and Cal Poly: student payloads from Cal Poly flew on Dawn Aerospace’s horizontal-launch spaceplane in New Zealand, an outcome Sloan described as a “transformative” educational experience. He also said Dawn Aerospace is launching a public relations campaign highlighting the partnership.

Sloan said Senator Padilla submitted an appropriation request for $1,000,000 to support the Paso Robles Spaceport Training and Research Center; staff told commissioners the request has cleared several steps and that they are about 80% of the way to securing the funding. Sloan identified the Paso Robles Spaceport Training and Research Center as the intended recipient and said funding would be used to establish laboratory space, educational programs, research facilities and collaborative partnerships tied to the commercial space industry.

Sloan outlined available industrial space in and around the airport that the city and brokers have identified as potential sites for aerospace or tech activity: a 40,000-square-foot climate-controlled warehouse formerly used for wine storage; an 86,000-square-foot building with a 32-foot ceiling; and a 10-acre parcel entitled for 157,000 square feet of industrial space. Engineering analysis by Tartaglia Engineering also identified nearly 300 acres of airport-owned property as having potential for spaceport-related development. Sloan noted the Paso Robles Airport’s 1,300 acres of property (compared with 340 acres for San Luis Obispo Airport) as a comparative advantage for future development.

Sloan said the city continues to hold public workshops tied to the master plan update and that documents are posted at prb.airportstudy.net. He reported a recent call with NASA Ames Research Center officials who expressed interest in touring the facilities, and he noted upcoming conferences and membership in national networks where the city is positioning itself to learn from other spaceports (citing Houston and Midland as examples).

Commissioner questions centered on demand projections, road access and housing for potential employees. Sloan said the city’s strategy is to grow organically, start with small engineering firms — he referenced a local tenant, Stellar Exploration, which has used the test site and employs roughly 30 engineers — and keep Cal Poly graduates in the region by offering local opportunities.

Sloan closed by inviting commissioners to follow the master plan process and the spaceport activities; staff said next steps include continued master plan milestones, further public workshops and follow-up meetings with federal partners.