There’s been a lot of chatter recently about the future of the Livermore Municipal Airport — well, to be fair, isn’t there always?
The city government, which oversees operations at the airport on the west end of town, has several irons in the fire, but the debate over one in particular caught my eye: creating a public safety complex.
And even that path is multi-pronged, as I found out, but the bottom line for those involved seems clear.
“The city is very interested in supporting public safety agencies that would like to operate from the Livermore Airport,” Brandon Cardwell, director of innovation and economic development for the city, told me recently. “The airport has tremendous potential as a public safety resource, which is why staff has already begun conversation with agencies like East Bay Regional Parks Police and Fire about their needs and the potential for operational and infrastructure efficiencies with our local public safety agencies.”
A similar high level of interest is true for Five Rivers Aviation, the fixed-base operator (FBO) at the airport, which has included a public safety complex among the components in its comprehensive development application.
“These projects help garner support from the community for the airport because they see real value to the community to have fire, ambulance, rescue and law enforcement resources being deployed here,” Five Rivers owner Pete Sandhu, one of the most enthusiastic advocates for the Livermore Airport, told me earlier this month.
But the FBO’s path to public safety and the city’s path may not actually be one in the same. Only time will tell.
It’s also relevant to remember this whole conversation is baked into the context of the city’s Airport Land Use Study that got off the ground in February, but it’s more like they’re being cooked in the same oven but not the same dish.
After the controversial Kaiser Air proposal was abandoned in 2022, the Livermore City Council approved a new “airport leasing and development policy” the next year — opening the door for applicants to pitch plans to expand use of the airport.
Five Rivers walked through, submitting an extensive proposal in August 2023 to redevelop the airport with aeronautical and non-aeronautical uses (an important distinction when it comes to rules governing the municipal airport from the city and the Federal Aviation Administration).
It’s a wow list introduced by Sandhu, outside of the public safety component: business aviation including eight midsize and 20 large hangar bays, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) operations, hydrogen energy production, solar panels, and educational opportunities for flight schools, for air transport professionals and for Las Positas College (aviation maintenance technician, air traffic controller and flight training).
The public safety complex proposed by Five Rivers could include space for the aircraft of Cal Fire, the California Highway Patrol and East Bay Regional Park District. You may remember EBRPD moved some helicopter resources from Hayward to Livermore on a temporary basis last May, on a short-term lease that expires in about six months.
The city continues to review and process the exhaustive Five Rivers application, but for now it remains an all-in package. It remains unclear whether the company would be interested in carving out the public safety complex to advance on that component sooner – but Sandhu hasn’t done so yet, although you could understand why.
Cardwell and local leaders like Livermore Police Chief Jeramy Young and Livermore-Pleasanton Fire Chief Joe Testa know timing could be critical to bringing together a multi-agency project, especially when state agencies are involved.
Both chiefs told me they’re excited about the prospect of more regional and state aircraft being stationed permanently in Livermore and the benefits that could bring to response time and response levels for the Tri-Valley and surrounding areas. Just think how much faster air support could come to a local wildfire, or to transport car crash victims to regional hospitals, or to help with searches for lost hikers or criminals on the run.
Those are among the reasons that Livermore officials are exploring the possibility of whether the city should go off on its own with a public safety complex at the airport, independent of what Five Rivers has proposed.
That question remains unanswered, but the fact it’s being asked this seriously shows city leadership isn’t just sitting on its hands with a potential big opportunity right in front of them.
The answer on public safety expansion could also be informed by the Airport Land Use Study, which is expected to see a technical memo outlining the study findings released publicly in the next two months, according to Cardwell.
The overarching study is analyzing themes important to airport users, neighboring residents and other stakeholders such as growth and development, sustainability and innovation, community and engagement, and noise and safety.
That memo should elicit plenty more chatter when it comes out. Stay tuned.