BANNING - A five-year master plan for the city's airport has been proposed and is awaiting public input.
City leaders say they're anxious to revitalize and expand Banning Municipal Airport, and to attract new businesses.
The City Council decided this week to postpone a vote on the plan until a public workshop can be held. One was scheduled for 5 p.m. Jan. 8 at City Hall.
Proposed plans for the airport - which would have a runway as long as that at John Wayne Airport in Orange County - include increasing jet-fueling service from eight to 24 hours a day and adding more hangars.
"It's a wonderful asset that we really need to build on," said Councilman Bob Botts. "The point is to make a very modern-day airport that can attract businesses and industries who like to be close to airports."
This could be just the right time for Banning to begin revitalizing its airport, said John Husing, a Redlands-based economist who studies the Inland Empire.
In 2000, industrial businesses jumped the 15 Freeway, he said, and when Redlands and San Bernardino are built out, the San Gorgonio Pass area will be next.
Although the airport isn't huge, the city could benefit by improving it, especially when the next housing cycle hits, Husing said.
"Next housing cycle, which hasn't started yet, you're going to see a lot of home construction in Banning," he said. "The market didn't quite reach Banning in the last housing cycle, but it will reach it in the next cycle.
"So you're going to have a need for local jobs as a consequence of what you're going to see," Husing said. "It'll be helpful to use the airport to get companies to consider being there."
The city has hired C&S Engineering Inc., which commissioned a study and organized the master plan. The company and the city have been working on the plan for the past year, and it has already been approved by the Federal Aviation Administration. This means if the plan is passed, the city would be eligible for federal grants to finance the revitalization, said Duane Burke, Banning public works director.
Manufacturing companies, Botts said, are needed in Banning to bring in jobs and sales taxes. An improved airport could attract many of the industrial businesses that prefer to be near airports.
"We want the Banning residents to be able to live in Banning and work here and not have to drive every day to Los Angeles or Orange County," he said.
Other proposed improvements include improving the runway and taxiway, and improving the navigational aids.
Ken Harris has been flying his Beechcraft Bonanza airplane for 20 years and using the Banning airport for 15. Although he thinks the plan might benefit the city, he said one important component is critical: Making the airport an all-weather airport where planes can take off regardless of the weather conditions, he said.
"We've had study after study and you can't get businesses out there, but if they improve the airport, especially if they make it an all-weather airport, businesses would be much more likely to come out here," said the 76-year- old Banning resident who spends about 120 hours flying every year.
An all-weather airport, Burke said, is one of the components in the master plan.
"It's so much nicer to get to be at the airport and find activities going on," Harris said.
Another potential use for the airport is working with the Morongo Band of Mission Indians to use the airport for their customers, Botts said.
"There have been discussions in the past, and I would like to see us reopening those discussions and see how we can work together with them," he said.
