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Airport Commission seeks county sign-off on updated work plan; urges earlier master-plan review and eVTOL readiness
Summary
The Airports Commission presented a revised 2025-26 work plan to Hewlett Committee members, urged earlier engagement on a San Martin/Reid-Hillview master planning process and flagged near-term issues including eVTOL infrastructure and possible damage claims tied to a new unleaded aviation fuel.
The Santa Clara County Airports Commission asked the Hewlett Committee on Aug. 21 to approve its revised 2025-26 work plan and emphasized the need for earlier planning work at the county'owned general aviation airports.
Commission Chair Dan Connolly highlighted several near-term priorities: community outreach, infrastructure planning for emerging electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), and an investigation into potential aircraft damage tied to the 100UL unleaded aviation fuel now in use at some general-aviation fields.
Why it matters: The commission said the county's last airport master plan is more than 20 years old and that a delay in starting an updated plan could leave the airport system unprepared if a later decision requires aircraft or operations to shift countywide. The commission also warned regional coordination is necessary for eVTOL and other low-altitude operations that will primarily operate from local airports.
Connolly told the committee the commission sought broader community outreach after a subcommittee was formed and said leases of only one year for airport tenants make business planning difficult. "It's very difficult for those that are doing business with us at the airport, to never have more than a 1 year lease," Connolly said, urging the county to consider longer lease terms to help tenants secure funding.
On eVTOL, Connolly said manufacturers plan commercial service within roughly 18 to 24 months and recommended county planning to prepare infrastructure and regional policy coordination. "Archer Aviation this last week completed a 55-mile flight," he said, noting the Bay Area hosts manufacturer test facilities.
The commission also asked the committee to allow research into a safety and liability question tied to "G100UL" (100 low-lead unleaded aviation fuel). Connolly said the commission's revised work plan restores language to receive information "regarding potential damages caused by 100UL to paint o-rings and whether there are other effects on critical aircraft components." The commission reported at least one insurance total-loss claim it believes is linked to the fuel and said more reports had been supplied to the commission.
Master plan timing and funding: Public commenter Douglas Rice and the commission noted master-plan work for county airports is largely funded by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) — Rice said historically such master plans have been about 90% FAA-funded and 10% user-funded — and that the county could face multiyear timelines to update plans and address infrastructure needs like towers or hangar capacity.
Committee action: The Hewlett Committee voted to forward the Airports Commission work plan to the full board with a recommended deletion of item 7 (reactivation of a Regional Airport Planning Committee at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission). Committee members said MTC staff told them they could not reactivate the committee at this time; the committee asked the Airports Commission to incorporate eVTOL and regional coordination work into other work-plan items.
Ending: Commissioners said they would follow up with a written list of San Martin airport concerns at the committee's request. No formal decision on master-plan dates or airport closures was made at the meeting.
