A crowd of residents rallied on the lawn in front of City Hall before the Tuesday night City Council meeting to demand that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) take the necessary steps to make the Santa Monica airport safe.

Many of the same people spoke during the subsequent Council study session. Most of the speakers live near the airport – in Santa Monica and LA — and their list of complaints included the enormous increase in corporate jet traffic, the possibility of planes running off the runway and into houses, jet noise, toxic fumes, as well as the FAA’s alleged lack of interest in the airport’s hazards over the years.

In addition, representatives read statements from Congressman Henry Waxman and Congresswoman Jane Harman and L.A. City Councilman Bill Rosendahl, all of whom expressed their displeasure with the FAA’s passive posture, as well as assuring residents of their concern.

The session had ritual aspects. According to the City’s staff report, the staff had, in effect, already rejected a couple of iterations of the FAA proposal as inadequate, but the FAA spokesman, Kirk Shaffer, presented the proposal to the Council anyway. It called for the construction of 155-foot runway safety areas at either end of the runway consisting of 130 feet of Engineered Materials Arresting System (EMAS) with a 25- foot lead-in to the bed that is designed to stop a plane traveling at 40 knots.

At the conclusion of the extended discussion, Council directed staff to return with strategies to implement staff recommendations for runway safety measures, including the possibility of Congressional action.

The City has maintained that the airport was not designed to handle large corporate jets and the FAA’s decision to allow them to use the airport was made unilaterally, without the knowledge or consent of area residents or the City of Santa Monica.

The other major item on the agenda was the adoption of an emergency interim ordinance that requires developers of projects measuring more than 7,500 square feet or containing more than 5 or 15 housing units in the industrial areas (LSMD and Ml) to make development agreements with the City. Development agreements will also be required for changes in land use on parcels that exceed 32,000 square feet in the LMSD zone and 15,000 square feet in the M1 zone – with the exception of auto dealerships.

Several residents spoke against the measure. Arthur Harris described it as “spot zoning,” and reiterated the call that residents have previously made for a City-wide measure that would put all new development on hold until the General Plan revision is completed. Lawyer Diana Gordon, speaking for Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, criticized the use of development agreements and challenged the City Attorney’s interpretation of state law on moratoriums.

The Council also made the following appointments: Jean German and Mark Young to the Airport Commission; Edward Edwards to the Library board; Gail Myers to the Social Services Commission; and Asuka Hisa to the Arts Commission

Among the more piquant items on the Consent calendar were the approval of a bid from J. Perez Associates, Inc. in an amount of $199,704 to provide bus advertisement posting and on-board schedule stocking services;; an agreement with the Ferguson Company in an amount of $72,557 for Federal lobbying services; and an agreement with Los Angeles County for City TV to provide programming, video production services and support to activate the Countywide channel.