U.S. Departme nt 

of Transportation 

Federal Aviation 

Administration 

July 12, 2012 

Mr. E. Tazewell Ellett 

Counsel for Respondent 

Hogan Lovells US LLP 

555 Thirteenth Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20004 

Airport Compliance and Management Analysis 

Re: Docket No. 16-09-06 

Dear Mr. Ellett: 

800 Independence Ave., SW. 

Washington, DC 20591 

Thank you for your March 30, 20121etter regarding the City of Glendale's (City) ongoing 

efforts to implement the corrective action plan tentatively accepted by the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) last year. The corrective action plan outlined the City's proposed 

response and methodology to become compliant with the findings ofthe FAA's Director's 

Determination (DO), Valley Aviation Services, LLP v. City of Glendale, AZ, FAA Docket 

16-09-06, issued May 24, 2011 . 

In the DO, the FAA found the City of Glendale had been in violation of the following airport 

sponsor grant assurance obligations: 

• Grant Assurance 19, Operations and Maintenance; 

• Grant Assurance 29, Airport Layout Plan; and 

• Grant Assurance 22, Economic Nondiscrimination. 

As part of the corrective action plan, the City has been working with hangar tenants to 

implement a hangar inspection program as a means to ensure consistent compliance with the 

2004 Airport Rules and Regulations, the City's grant assurance obligations, and FAA 

policies. FAA agreed to assist the City in its efforts should significant questions arise during 

the development and implementation of the corrective action plan. In the above referenced 

letter, you called upon the FAA to provide clarification regarding the standard for 

determining aeronautical versus nonaeronautical uses of aircraft hangars as the City strives to 

achieve full compliance implementing its hangar inspection program. This letter serves as 

FAA's response to your request. 

Summarily, an airport owner is obligated to use aeronautically designated land and facilities 

for aeronautical purposes. Hangars located on airport property designated for aeronautical 

use may only be used in direct support of an aeronautical purpose. Aircraft storage hangars 
2 

may be used to store only aircraft, items which are used on or for aircraft, or incidental items 

for personal convenience while using the hangar (so long as any such stored personal 

convenience items are determined to be acceptable by the airport manager). Thus, aircraft 

storage hangars may be used to store the items on the following list (which is not intended to 

be all-inclusive): 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Aircraft 1

• ' 

Aircraft tow bar or similar aircraft towing equipment for the storage and/or removal 

of the aircraft in the hangar; 

Aircraft flight and maintenance logs, to include filing cabinets as needed for orderly 

storage of these logs; 

A desk for the purposes of conducting flight planning or other directly aeronautical 

purposes; 

A printer for the purposes of conducting flight planning or other directly aeronautical 

purposes; 

A small refrigerator or coffee pot used for personal convenience while using the 

hangar (so long as this is acceptable to the airport manager); and 

Items to maintain an aircraft, even if such items may not be used in the hangar but 

instead elsewhere on the airport such as an aircraft wash rack or maintenance apron 

(All stored items must be permitted by local fire codes, airport rules and regulations, 

and other local ordinances). 

An airport owner has the proprietary right to designate parcels of property as nonaeronautical 

use. As such, a nonaeronautical parcel would not be considered by the FAA to be eligible for 

Federal airport project funding for infrastructure improvements such as taxiways, aprons, 

ramps, etc. Furthermore, the airport owner is required to charge nonaeronautical fair market 

value rental fees for the nonaeronautical use of airport property. This is explicitly stated in 

FAA's Policy and Procedures Concerning the Use of Airport Revenue (64 FR 7696) 

(Revenue Use Policy) and also recognized to further a self-sustaining rate structure, which is 

required under Grant Assurance 24 and codified at 49 U.S. Code, section 47107(a)(13)(A). 

Items that FAA considers to be nonaeronautical or not for the furtherance of the aeronautical 

use of the aircraft hangar, and thus should not be stored in hangars on airport property 

designated for aeronautical use at aeronautical rates, include (without limitation): 

• Boats; 

• Motorcycles, automobiles, recreational vehicles, campers;

2 

1

There are additional requirements regarding nonflyable aircraft. 2 The FAA recognizes an aircraft owner may drive an automobile or ride a motorcycle or bicycle to the airport 

and subsequently remove the aircraft from its hangar for aeronautical purposes. In such circumstances, the 

FAA does not consider temporarily parking the automobile, motorcycle, bicycle or other reasonable 

transportation used by the aircraft owner/user in the hangar to conflict with the hangar's aeronautical use. 

However, under no circumstances may a hangar located on airport property designated for aeronautical use be 

used for the storage of an automobile or other nonaeronautical items. 
3 

• Fork lifts; 

• Welding equipment; 

• Drill presses; 

• Beds; 

• Household items that do not have aeronautical purposes; and 

• Recreational/playground equipment (e.g. swing sets, golf clubs, fishing equipment). 

Again, this list represents just a few examples of items that may not be stored in aircraft 

hangars located on airport property designated for aeronautical use and charged aeronautical 

fees. The airport owner has the right to impose additional restrictions how tenants use airport 

property as long as these restrictions are reasonable, nondiscriminatory and consistent with 

the airport owner's Federal grant assurances. 

The FAA recognizes there may be limited occasions when an aircraft owner/user may wish 

to load and unload into the aircraft small supplies of recreational items such as golf clubs or 

fishing equipment overnight before or after a trip in the aircraft. However, any storage of 

these items must be limited to the single use and be removed immediately before or after the 

trip. 

To date, the City has undertaken numerous steps to correct the findings in the Director's 

Determination. The FAA wishes to commend the City for its efforts to become a fully 

compliant airport sponsor, thereby ensuring future eligibility to Federal program assistance. 

If you have any questions on this matter or require additional assistance, please contact 

myself at (202) 267-8741 or Tony Garcia, the FAA's Western Pacific Region Airport 

Compliance Program Manager, at (310) 725-3634. 

Since ely, 

~v--C.tJQt vin C. Willis 

{ 

anager, Airport Compliance 

cc: FAA Part 16 Airport Proceedings Docket 

Western Pacific Region Airports Division, AWP-600 

Los Angeles Airports District Office 
U.S. Deportment 

of Transportation Airport Compliance and Management Analysis 800 Independence Ave., SW. 

Washington, DC 20591 

Federal Aviation 

Administration 

July 6, 2012 

Mr. E. Tazewell Ellett 

Counsel for Respondent 

Hogan Lovells US LLP 

55 5 Thirteenth Street, NW 

Washington, DC 20004 

Re: Docket No. 16-09-06 

Dear Mr. Ellett: 

Thank you for your March 30, 20121etter regarding the City of Glendale's (City) ongoing 

efforts to implement the corrective action plan tentatively accepted by the Federal Aviation 

Administration (FAA) last year. The corrective action plan outlined the City's proposed 

response and methodology to become compliant with the findings of the FAA's Director's 

Determination (DD), Valley Aviation Services, LLP v. City of Glendale, AZ, FAA Docket 

16-09-06, issued May 24, 2011. 

In the DD, the FAA found the City of Glendale had been in violation ofthe following airport 

sponsor grant assurance obligations: 

• Grant Assurance 19, Operations and Maintenance; 

• Grant Assurance 29, Airport Layout Plan; and 

• Grant Assurance 22, Economic Nondiscrimination. 

As part of the corrective action plan, the City has been working with hangar tenants to 

implement a hangar inspection program as a means to ensure consistent compliance with the 

2004 Airport Rules and Regulations, the City's grant assurance obligations, and FAA 

policies. FAA agreed to assist the City in its efforts should significant questions arise during 

the development and implementation of the corrective action plan. In the above referenced 

letter, you called upon the FAA to provide clarification regarding the standard for 

determining aeronautical versus nonaeronautical uses of aircraft hangars as the City strives to 

achieve full compliance implementing its hangar inspection program. This letter serves as 

FAA's response to your request. 

Summarily, an airport owner is obligated to use aeronautically designated land and facilities 

for aeronautical purposes. Hangars located on airport property designated for aeronautical 

use may only be used in direct support of an aeronautical purpose. Aircraft storage hangars 

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2 

may be used to store only aircraft, items which are used on or for aircraft, or incidental items 

for personal convenience while using the hangar (so long as any such stored personal 

convenience items are determined to be acceptable by the airport manager). Thus, aircraft 

storage hangars may be used to store the items on the following list (which is not intended to 

be all-inclusive): 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Aircraft1

• ' 

Aircraft tow bar or similar aircraft towing equipment for the storage and/or removal 

of the aircraft in the hangar; 

Aircraft flight and maintenance logs, to include filing cabinets as needed for orderly 

storage of these logs; 

A desk for the purposes of conducting flight planning or other directly aeronautical 

purposes; 

A printer for the purposes of conducting flight planning or other directly aeronautical 

purposes; 

• A small refrigerator or coffee pot used for personal convenience while using the 

hangar (so long as this is acceptable to the airport manager); and 

• Items to maintain an aircraft, even if such items may not be used in the hangar but 

instead elsewhere on the airport such as an aircraft wash rack or maintenance apron 

(All stored items must be permitted by local fire codes, airport rules and regulations, 

and other local ordinances). 

An airport owner has the proprietary right to designate parcels of property as nonaeronautical 

use. As such, a nonaeronautical parcel would not be considered by the FAA to be eligible for 

Federal airport project funding for infrastructure improvements such as taxiways, aprons, 

ramps, etc. Furthermore, the airport owner is required to charge nonaeronautical fair market 

value rental fees for the nonaeronautical use of airport property. This is explicitly stated in 

FAA's Policy and Procedures Concerning the Use of Airport Revenue (64 FR 7696) 

(Revenue Use Policy) and also recognized to further a self-sustaining rate structure, which is 

required under Grant Assurance 24 and codified at 49 U.S. Code, section 47107(a)(13)(A). 

Items that FAA considers to be nonaeronautical or not for the furtherance of the aeronautical 

use of the aircraft hangar, and thus should not be stored in hangars on airport property 

designated for aeronautical use at aeronautical rates, include (without limitation): 

• Boats; 

• Motorcycles, automobiles, recreational vehicles, campers;

2 

1

There are additional requirements regarding non flyable aircraft. 

2 The FAA recognizes an aircraft owner may drive an automobile or ride a motorcycle or bicycle to the airport 

and subsequently remove the aircraft from its hangar for aeronautical purposes. In such circumstances, the 

FAA does not consider temporarily parking the automobile, motorcycle, bicycle or other reasonable 

transportation used by the aircraft owner/user in the hangar to conflict with the hangar's aeronautical use. 

However, under no circumstances may a hangar located on airport property designated for aeronautical use be 

used for the storage of an automobile or other nonaeronautical items. 
3 

• Fork lifts; 

• Welding equipment; 

• Drill presses; 

• Beds; 

• Household items that do not have aeronautical purposes; and 

• Recreational/playground equipment (e.g. swing sets, golf clubs, fishing equipment). 

Again, this list represents just a few examples of items that may not be stored in aircraft 

hangars located on airport property designated for aeronautical use and charged aeronautical 

fees. The airport owner has the right to impose additional restrictions how tenants use airport 

property as long as these restrictions are reasonable, nondiscriminatory and consistent with 

the airport owner's Federal grant assurances. 

The FAA recognizes there may be limited occasions when an aircraft owner/user may wish 

to load and unload into the aircraft small supplies of recreational items such as golf clubs or 

fishing equipment overnight before or after a trip in the aircraft. However, any storage of 

these items must be limited to the single use and be removed immediately before or after the 

trip. 

To date, the City has undertaken numerous steps to correct the fmdings in the Director's 

Determination. The FAA wishes to commend the City for its efforts to become a fully 

compliant airport sponsor, thereby ensuring future eligibility to Federal program assistance. 

If you have any questions on this matter or require additional assistance, please contact 

myself at (202) 267-8741 or Tony Garcia, the FAA's Western Pacific Region Airport 

Compliance Program Manager, at (3 10) 725-3634. 

Sincerely, 

Kevin C. Willis 

Manager, Airport Compliance 

cc: FAA Part 16 Airport Proceedings Docket 

Western Pacific Region Airports Division, A WP-600 

Los Angeles Airports District Office 

Control# 

G:/ACO/Ted Ellett 7-12.doc 

AC0-100: Kevin Willis:78741 at: 7/5/ 12 

cc: AC0-1 00111 ARPI A WP-600/Kevin