South County Airport

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RECENT NEWS

The current FBO property lease at San Martin Airport expires December 11, 2020. The County issued an RFP and is currently negotiating with San Martin Aviation (the maintenance provider on the FBO property) to execute a new 7-year lease with three 1-year options. The new lease will include the maintenance hangar building, offices and ramp space (1 and 3) and space for the fuel tank and equipment (2). It will not include the adjacent hangars currently situated on the FBO property (Classic Hangars).

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The Classic Hangars are divided into two distinct groups. Phase-1 hangars were constructed around 1986 and are shown as orange in the image below. Phase-2 hangars were constructed around 1996 and are shown as blue in the image below. The Phase 1 and 2 hangars were constructed under different circumstances and have different ownership profiles. In general, the Phase 1 hangar structures are owned by their occupant and may be removed from the premises by the owner before December 12, 2020. The Phase 2 hangars are owned by the County and may not be removed from the airport.

San Martin Airport Profile

Location and Environs

South County Airport is located within the unincorporated community of San Martin in Santa Clara County. The Airport is located one mile east of the community’s downtown area. At an elevation of 281 feet Mean Sea Level (MSL), the Airport lies on the flat Santa Clara Valley floor, which runs through the middle of the County. The Santa Cruz Mountains bound the Airport to the west and rise to nearly 3,500 feet MSL.

The Airport is bounded by U.S. Highway 101 to the east, San Martin Avenue to the north and Murphy Avenue to the west. A mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial uses surrounded the Airport on all sides.

The Airport’s general aviation terminal is situated off Murphy Avenue. Automobile access to South County Airport is via U.S. Highway 101, San Martin Avenue and Murphy Avenue. Highway 101 connects the San Martin area to San Francisco to the north and Los Angeles to the south.

History

South County Airport opened in 1972. The Airport was constructed in what was a relatively rural area of south Santa Clara County. The community developed due to demand (parking and operational) from northern and central Santa Clara County.

Facilities

South County Airport is owned in fee by the County of Santa Clara. The day-to-day operation and management of the Airport is the responsibility of the County’s Roads and Airports Department. Policy decisions affecting the Airport are made by the five-member Board of Supervisors. The Santa Clara County Airports Commission serves in an advisory capacity to the Board of Supervisors and staff on matters involving County-managed airports.

The Airport encompasses 179 acres and consists of a single runway and two parallel taxiways on either side of the runway. A large building area, containing nearly all of the airport buildings, is located west of Runway 14-32. A full-length apron edge taxiway serves the building area. Runway 14-32 is 3,100 feet in length and 75 feet wide. It is asphalt paved with basic markings. The surface is rated at 12,500 pounds for aircraft with main landing gear in a single-wheel configuration.

Runway 14-32 is a non-precision runway with a GPS straight-in instrument approach to Runway 32. The runway is supported by a Medium-Intensity Runway Lighting System (MIRL). To facilitate landing operations, a two-box Precision Approach Path Indicator (PAPI) with a 4.0° visual glide slope is located to the left side of Runway 14-32.

South County Airport’s principal building area is located west Runway 14-32 and backs to Murphy Avenue. Ninety tie-down spaces are located on the main apron positioned west of Runway 32. Several fixed based operator buildings, hangars (e.g., T-hangars and portable hangars), and a tie-down apron are located in the northern portion of the building area, west of Runway 14. A mixture of box hangars and T-hangars (totaling 100 units) were recently constructed in the central section of the building area.

Community Profile

Santa Clara County is bounded by San Mateo County to the northwest; Alameda County to the north; Stanislaus County to the east; Merced County to the southeast; San Benito County to the south; Monterey County to the southwest; and Santa Cruz County to the west. The County encompasses nearly 826.4 thousand acres.

The unincorporated community of San Martin is located in the southern portion of Santa Clara County. San Martin is situated 5 miles south of the City of Morgan Hill and 6 miles north of the City of Gilroy.