Official Statement Airport Commission City and County of San ...

the beneficiaries (the people of the State). Under the law, any such amendment or revocation could not impair the
accomplishment of trust purposes, or abrogate the existing covenants and agreements between the City, acting by
and through the Commission, as trustee, and the Airport’s bondholders. The Commission does not anticipate that
the State will revoke the tidelands grants.
State Proposition 218
In November 1996, the voters of the State approved Proposition 218, known as the “Right to Vote on Taxes
Act.” Proposition 218 adds Articles XIII C and XIII D to the California Constitution, and contains a variety of
interrelated provisions concerning the ability of local governments, including the City, to impose both existing and
future taxes, assessments, fees and charges.
Article XIII C removes limitations on the initiative power in matters of local taxes, assessments, fees and
charges. Consequently, the voters of the City could, by future initiative, seek to repeal, reduce, or prohibit the future
imposition or increase of, any local tax, assessment, fee or charge. “Assessment,” “fee,” and “charge” are not
defined in Article XIII C and it is unclear whether the definitions of such terms contained in Article XIII D
(which are generally property-related as described below) are so limited under Article XIII C.
Article XIII D conditions the imposition of a new or increased “fee” or “charge” on either voter approval or
the absence of a majority protest, depending upon the nature of the fee or charge. The terms “fee” and “charge” are
defined to mean levies (other than ad valorem taxes, special taxes and assessments) imposed by a local government
upon a parcel or upon a person as an incident of the ownership or tenancy of real property, including a user fee or
charge for a “property-related service.” No assurance can be given that the voters of the City will not, in the future,
approve initiatives which seek to repeal, reduce, or prohibit the future imposition or increase of, assessments, fees,
or charges, including the Commission’s fees and charges, which are the source of Net Revenues pledged to the
payment of debt service on the Bonds. The Commission believes that Article XIII D does not apply to Airport fees
and charges imposed by the Commission.
The interpretation and application of the Proposition 218 will ultimately be determined by the courts or
through implementing legislation. The Commission is unable to predict the outcome of any such litigation or
legislation.
Noise Mitigation and Variance
General
In accordance with State regulations administered by the California Department of Transportation
(“Title 21”), each California airport which has a noise impact area defined by the 65 decibel (Db) Community Noise
Equivalent Level (“CNEL”) contour is required to apply for a variance from those regulations. As of October 2002,
the Airport became the first major commercial airport in the State to achieve Title 21 compliance and therefore is
permitted to operate without a variance. In order to maintain compliance with Title 21 regulations, the Airport
continues to monitor aircraft noise levels through the preparation of quarterly 65 Db CNEL contour maps and offers
insulation to new property owners at sites where previous owners declined participation in the noise insulation
program.
The significant progress made by the Commission in reducing the impact of aircraft noise on the
communities surrounding the Airport resulted from the implementation of (1) noise abatement flight procedures,
(2) an aircraft noise insulation program, (3) community outreach through the Airport Community Roundtable, and
(4) requests that certain surrounding communities adopt ordinances to protect new purchasers of homes within their
community.
Noise Abatement Procedures
The Commission has instituted a wide range of noise abatement procedures to reduce the impact of
aircraft-generated noise on the neighboring communities surrounding the Airport. These procedures include “quiet
bridge approach” and “preferential runway departure” policies, among others. The preferential runway departure
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