San Luis Obispo County’s proposed renovation of the airport campground in the Oceano Community Services District (OCSD) sparked community concern and confusion about the purpose of a place that primarily caters to private pilots.
“Within the last 10 years, easily, there has been talk about what is the point of the airport. Who does it really serve?” said April Dury, who calls herself a member-at-large of the Oceano Advisory Council. “The San Luis airport serves the public, … but the Oceano airport doesn’t serve the public at all. Oceano, essentially, is a depressed economic area.”
The almost 70-year-old OCSD airport is run by the county and funded through its Airport Enterprise Fund. On May 3, Henry Bonifas—a county environmental specialist—notified the Oceano Advisory Council about the campground upgrade that would include eight campsites with a fire pit and picnic table, a group barbecue area with a grill and string lighting, and a lighted footpath with landscape planting. The airport currently allows people who fly in to camp in its open space, which has a fire pit and restrooms. The council has 14 days to respond with their recommendations.
But Dury said that restricted public access to the airport is making it hard for the council to examine the grounds. After several days of making multiple calls, Dury said she managed to book a tour for the afternoon of May 11, after New Times went to press. At its May 12 meeting, the advisory council will hear from members of the public about the renovation and the controversial Measure A-22 fire tax.
“As a member of the [council], I am not saying that anyone is against it. We want to get the public’s input, and use that to form our opinions and recommendations,” Dury said. “As a resident of Oceano, I am not understanding why we are allowing private citizens to fly into our airport, use a campground that’s basically free, … $15 a night, that the public can’t even access, on taxpayer property.”
Courtney Johnson, the county’s director of airports, told New Times that the airport operates in a manner similar to private business enterprises, self-supported through user fees and tenant revenue. It doesn’t tap into the county general fund. The nightly $15 is an “honor system” camping fee.
“Non-based (transient) aircraft parked overnight, and campground fees are ticketed and/or monitored by operations personnel each morning,” Johnson said via email. “The ‘honor system’ is based on users of the airport placing money/checks inside a transient box at Oceano (or SBP) Airport for services used; additionally, users of the airport can call airport administration and pay via credit card.”
The revitalization project has been in the works since 2020, Johnson said, with construction expected to start later this year. Renovation funds will be determined once the environmental and design phases are completed. According to Johnson, the airport has been breaking even over the past few fiscal years.
“The capital projects currently underway at the airport are outside of the normal operating budget; however, we believe the revitalization of this county/community asset will strengthen the Oceano community,” she said.
Johnson said that one of the main benefits would be a positive economic boost in terms of businesses, families, and residents traveling to and from the Oceano Airport every day, and subsequently engaging with local hotels, stores, and restaurants.
“Additionally, Oceano Airport helps keep existing employers in a community and attract new ones to our region,” Johnson said.
Private pilots aren’t the only people using the airport.
“Emergency services such as the California Highway Patrol, Sheriff Aero Squadron, beach rescues, life-flight, and other agencies all utilize the airport to aid both residents and visitors in the area,” Johnson said. “With the combined interests, airfields across the nation—like Oceano Airport—generate significant economic impact in their community.”
For Dury, the May 11 tour will be her first visit to the airport since she was a preteen when her father’s friend took her on a ride in his private plane.
“If I charter someone to fly me out of the airport, or if I rent the biplane … those are the only two opportunities I would have to walk onto that location. I would never be able to camp there now because I don’t own a plane,” she said. “We’re not making TOT [transient occupancy tax] money off this, we’re certainly not making enough money to reinvest back for infrastructure improvements.”
—Bulbul Rajagopal
This article appears in May 12-22, 2022.
The Oceano Advisory Council does not understand what a community airport provides, besides a runway. Oceano Airport provides economic, business,recreational, educational and charitable contributions our airports make to our communities better. And don’t forget that inspiring the love of flight [and science] to our children leads to more pilots, aeronautical engineers and astronauts!
Friends of Oceano Airport [FOA] is a proud 501c3 Chapter of the California Pilots Association. We have 3 standing public events per year that are free-admission and family friendly. Luckily our Oceano Airport Celebration: Salute to Veterans is this Friday and Saturday May 13-14. We also have Family Movie Night in August, and Toys for Tots in December. Our Toys for Tots event is the largest in San Luis Obispo County and the toys collected stay in our 5-Cities area.
Burger Fry and Dance is Friday the 13th from 5:30-10. $10. Live music from Moments in Time Band. Saturday the 14th is Airport Celebration from 8:30 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. Free admission, free kids activities. Veterans/Active Duty/Law Enforcement and First Responders eat for free on Saturday. We will have a military vehicle display, live music, and a veterans salute [at noon]. Come and join the fun at Oceano Airport. Volunteers are always needed! Jolie Lucas, President, Friends of Oceano Airport. [http://www.FriendsofOceanoAirport.com]
. “The San Luis airport serves the public, … but the Oceano airport doesn’t serve the public at all. Oceano, essentially, is a depressed economic area.”
The Oceano aiport absolutely serves the Oceano community! Oceano businesses benefit from folks that fly-in for a daily visit or an overnight camping visit……restaurants, beach equipment rentals, the Melodrama, etc. all benefit the Oceano community. Any tourism access to these areas are significant! Enhancing the Oceano airport campground will only help to better serve the Oceano community.
In addition………….I truly hope this never occurs, but should we suffer a local disaster, Highway 101 is our only point of ingress/egress to our 5 cities areas, including the community of Oceano. We have seen these routes heavily congested, and blocked. As with previous disasters, an airport becomes the focal point for relief…….rescue, medical supplies, food, water, etc., all flown into the airport. The Oceano airport is an asset, and will indeed serve our community should such a situation arise.
For now, let’s enhance the campground, making it more enjoyable and more popular for those that fly-in to our beautiful and very unique tourist area!
Some ridiculous comments from convicted felon April Dury.
“use a campground that’s basically free, … $15 a night,”
What a ridiculous comment! Only a convicted embezzler would claim $15/night is free. That camping fee is also $5 more than the camping fee for the state-run Oceano Dunes. The Oceano Airport camping IS open to absolutely any member of the public, provided you flew in on an airplane. This is also no different from the dunes, which requires you to have a vehicle and license to drive onto them. People who arrive by airplane do not have a car to drive around, so it’s an important service to provide a campsite they can access without needing to drive via automobile.
“The San Luis airport serves the public, … but the Oceano airport doesn’t serve the public at all.”
Another crazy statement. The San Luis Airport is even more locked down than the Oceano airport. There is no way to walk onto the grounds of the SLO airport unless you are either a pilot or ticketed passenger. They both serve the public in exactly the same way. If you have a purpose to be on the grounds of either airport, any member of the public is welcome.