SAN JOSE —For many East San Jose residents, Reid Hillview Airport has been a symbol of inequality: 180 acres of county land, largely used by private pilots and flight schools, in the middle of one of the city’s most disadvantaged neighborhoods.

In addition to complaints about the noise, residents have raised concerns about plane crashes and lead exposure from fuel used by the airport’s small planes.

San Jose councilwoman Magdalena Carrasco was so concerned that she pulled her daughter out of Donald J. Meyer elementary school, which is next to the airport’s runways.

“I intuitively knew she was being sprayed with lead…and I was very concerned for her health and development,” said Carrasco at a council meeting Tuesday, where the city council discussed the county’s steps toward closing Reid Hillview. “I made that choice that many families are unable to make.”

The 180-acre airport was built in 1939 and was purchased by the county in 1961. In recent decades, dense neighborhoods of homes, schools and commercial development have been built around it, stoking resentment from residents who have called for Reid Hillview’s closure for fifty years.

In December, Santa Clara County supervisors seemed to heed those complaints, voting to stop accepting new federal grants for Reid Hillview, and opening the possibility for the airport to close as soon as 2031. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would still have to approve the airport’s closure.

Although San Jose doesn’t have authority over the closure, they would have a say into future development at the site, where residents have called for new housing, park space or commercial development.

“What we’re dealing with today is the direct result of inequity when it comes to land use decisions,” said councilwoman Maya Esparza. “Land is valuable, and we have to really look at other opportunities.”

Council members Tuesday asked the county to look into consolidating the airport’s operations to another county-owned airport in San Martin, and to develop plans to relocate San Jose State University’s aviation program and the Civil Air Patrol, which have facilities at Reid Hillview, and any Cal Fire operations, to nearby airports.

The council also asked city staff to study what kind of economic development could occur around the airport’s flight path.

The airport’s closure would, for example, open up development opportunities at the Eastridge Mall, which is currently subject to height limits and development restrictions because of its proximity to the airport. A light rail extension is also slated for the Eastridge Transit Center.

The county is currently conducting a study on alternative land uses for the airport, which will take several more months to complete. That process will include public outreach meetings in coming months to get input about possible uses for the property.

Supervisor Cindy Chavez, who pushed supervisors to refuse new federal grants for the airport, said while a previous attempt to close the airport may have seemed like an “ambush” on pilots, the county is taking it slow this time.

“[The attempt] is to have an open and broad conversation with the community,” Chavez said. “We just want to make a first initial look, the initial blush, of what could go there.”

But closing the airport will not be simple, and many argue its closure would mean the loss of a major public resource.

Reid Hillview is a reliever airport for the Norman Mineta San Jose International Airport, and pilots have noted Reid Hillview is home to a number of flight schools, at a time when there is a shortage of pilots.

Opponents also say moving the airport south would slow the response in the event of an emergency. Reid Hillview is home to the Civil Air Patrol, which conducts search-and-rescue operations and supports disaster relief.

“San Martin [airport] is 23 miles away with fewer access roads, that could easily get congested with traffic in an emergency,” said Jeff West, a private pilot who flies out of Reid Hillview.

Students from San Jose State’s aviation program have also said it would be a burden for them to drive to San Martin, while it currently takes ten minutes to drive from campus to Reid Hillview.

The program used to be based out of the San Jose Airport, but was moved to Reid Hillview about a decade ago when the San Jose airport decided they wanted to expand, said county road and airports director Harry Freitas.

“The continuous discussion on the closure of the airport has created instability for the program. We have parents and students concerned about joining the program,” said Fred Barez, chair of the university’s aviation program.

Although the Reid Hillview’s two runways were recently repaved, thanks to a loan from the county general fund, the rest of the facilities are in generally poor condition, said Freitas. Airport revenue, largely generated from plane storage, has also declined.

Jeff Miller, a business user at the airport, said the airport’s revenue has declined in part because the county hasn’t invested in the airport’s facilities.

“There hasn’t been any investment in the airport either, and without any investment, there isn’t any revenue generation,” said Miller.

It’s still unclear how much San Martin would be able to absorb new pilots and planes if Reid Hillview closes, said Freitas. Unlike Reid Hillview, the airport has a larger buffer zone of vacant property, and the county has already planned to direct any new aviation growth to San Martin as part of a 2006 master plan for the facility.

San Jose airport’s aviation director, John Aitken, told the council there would be impacts on the San Jose airport even if planes housed at Reid Hillview are moved south.

Student pilots might want exposure to a large airport with an air traffic control tower, Aitken said, which Reid Hillview has but the San Martin airport does not. Small general aviation planes also land at about half the speed of jets, so adding them to the flight pattern would cause some delays.

“Regardless of where we house the airplanes, there will be training traffic that comes to San Jose,” said Aitken.

County supervisors haven’t taken any official action to close the airport and haven’t formally asked the FAA for permission to close it, said Freitas.

The county is conducting a preliminary environmental assessment of the property, and is planning another study on airborne lead exposure around the airport. If the county were to move forward and close the airport, a lot more studies on the property would need to be done, Freitas said.

Jaime Alvarado, who grew up in the Evergreen neighborhood, said closing the airport would correct “errors of the past.”

“It was an error to build an airport and neighborhoods side-by-side — that’s crazy, just looking for trouble,” said Alvarado. “And not to address over 50 years of cumulative lead exposure to people around the airport is an error.”

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