Chico council upholds appeal, directs staff to restore Speltz’s lease at 100 Lockheed

The Chico City Council on June 17 voted 5–2 to uphold an appeal by pilot and tenant Mark Speltz and directed staff to return with a resolution to restore his occupancy rights at hangar space known as 100 Lockheed at Chico Regional Airport.

The council’s action follows a public hearing in which city staff, airport tenants and community members disputed whether a valid, enforceable lease existed after a 2024 series of transfers and defaults. City staff told the council that a new lease for the space had been approved by the Airport Commission in April for Aeroflight Inc., a company proposing to expand aerial firefighting operations, and that the city attorney’s office viewed a prior purported lease with Speltz as invalid because it was not executed in writing, not approved by the city attorney and not formally approved by the airport commission.

The timing and administration of the handoffs were central to the dispute. In 2021 Speltz held a multi‑year lease for the hangar. In early 2024 the lease was assigned to Dawson Taylor Aviation Services, which later…