The Handbook is sponsored by and available from the California Department of Transportation, Aeronautics Program. Most developers will, in the spirit of community cooperation, voluntarily grant an avigation easement over their projects. There are, however, those who resist the granting of easements. This, as the argument goes, requires the controlling agency to compensate the land owner for a theoretical decrease in property value. That is a frequent misleading statement.
Compensation is required only if the easement causes a substantial decrease in property value.
This is explainable by reviewing a land owner's basic rights. A land owner can as a matter of right make only such use of the land as is permitted by valid local zoning laws. The zoning authority can change the zoning to allow a different use. This might be either a higher or lower use. Land owners generally desire zoning that will allow 'highest and best use' of their property.