Why Santa Clara County shouldn’t close this airport
Although planning for emergency preparedness may be considered boring by some, it’s one of the most fundamental services we expect from our government. The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors intends on closing San Jose’s ReidHillview Airport, an action that will put lives at risk during the next major disaster. When I served on the Santa Clara County Emergency Operational Area Committee, Reid-Hillview was always considered an essential and strategic facility for the Disaster Assistance Response Team.
Reid-Hillview has been in operation for 80 years and has been an important and reliable partner in keeping our county safe. Reid-Hillview serves as the base of operations for Civil Air Patrol, Cal Fire, and is accessible to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, National Guard and Red Cross during times of crisis. Reid-Hillview played a strategic role in our region after the Loma Prieta earthquake. Another significant earthquake is inevitable, and we ignore the warnings of the geological scientists at our own peril.
Airports are the single most important infrastructural element for supply lines following a disaster and facilitate the most efficient delivery of food, medicine and potable water we receive from state and federal government agencies. To rely exclusively on terrestrial, longdistance truck delivery for supplies is both risky and shortsighted. Vehicle travel could be severely hampered or rendered impossible with collapsed bridges and overpasses and compromised roadways. Relying solely on Mineta San Jose International Airport carries great risk, since the facility may be out of commission or severely impaired in disaster scenarios. To depend on airports even further afield jeopardizes response times, and hinders delivery of critical services when time is of
the essence.
The county has made every attempt to close the airport by outright neglect. The Federal Aviation Administration, under both Democratic and Republican leadership, has offered to give our county millions of dollars for the maintenance of Reid-Hillview. The federal government understands airports are strategic and critical in helping people when disaster strikes. For example, the smaller Palo Alto Airport accepted $10 million in federal grants, while our county rejected the same federal grants for Reid-Hillview, opting instead to utilize millions from the county general fund. This means general fund dollars, which could have been spent on the severely mentally ill, foster children or those relying on the county social safety net were misallocated. Shortchanging those most in need, instead of accepting federal dollars, is a grave mistake.
So, why would the county reject federal dollars for Reid-Hillview when it accepts federal dollars for everything else? Because accepting federal grants requires that the airport stay open, and the county would rather sell the land to developers instead of retaining the facility for our public benefit and safety.
Closing Reid-Hillview would have a negative impact on Mineta San Jose International Airport. According to the San Jose Office of Economic Development, per FAA rules, Mineta San Jose would have to accept small planes upon Reid-Hillview’s closure, which would impact existing commercial airline operations (think delayed flights, crowded runways and route cancellations). A decline in Mineta San Jose’s capacity would have financial reverberations that could result in taxpayers having to cover bond payments for airport expansion efforts, which would potentially reduce money available for police and other essential services.
While closing the airport and selling land to out-of-town developers would definitely result in campaign donations to county supervisors, this shortsighted action would put countless residents at greater risk during disaster. Residents should think of Reid-Hillview as an essential part of our regional emergency preparedness kit, and without it residents of San Jose and the greater region would be significantly less safe when the big one hits.