CAA: GA News, "Lincoln land project seen as boost to business, Lincoln Regional Airport"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Thursday, October 25, 2001

Lincoln land project seen as boost to business, airport
By Jennifer K. Morita
The Sacramento (CA) Bee


Lincoln city officials hope an 88-acre light industrial subdivision
project next to the city's airport will bring new business to the area
and fund much-needed improvements to the growing regional facility.

Council members Tuesday approved spending $175,000 to begin subdividing
88 acres of city-owned land along the airport's east side.

Once the subdivision is completed, the city will be left with roughly 72
acres to sell to developers for about $6.6 million.

"The idea is to develop the property, create jobs and produce tax
revenue," said Gerald Johnson, Lincoln city manager.

Money generated from the land sale would be combined with grant dollars
from the Federal Aviation Administration and state Division of
Aeronautics to fix the Lincoln Regional Airport.

Many nearby corporations, including Hewlett Packard, use the Lincoln
airport to transport employees and cargo to and from the Bay Area.

The construction of a Highway 65 bypass that would divert regional
traffic around Lincoln would also aid airport access.

"We've seen an increased interest in this area," said Steve Art, Lincoln
economic development specialist. "As the Bay Area and some parts of
central Sacramento become busier and more congested and more expensive
to do business, people are looking for other areas to bring projects
to."

When Lincoln City Councilman Primo Santini campaigned for office a year
ago, one of his goals was to sell surplus city land and use the profits
to improve the aging airport.

"It can be a shot in the arm in terms of providing a lot of economic
vitality to Lincoln, but it also helps differentiate us from surrounding
communities," Santini said Wednesday. "We have something they don't."

With much of the airport's east side already built out, developers or
the city would have to pay for extending water and sewer services to the
west side and build a roadway before new businesses could move in.

Most small airport businesses can't afford the hefty cost of extending
water and sewer service.

"So we were kind of stuck waiting for that one big developer that can
afford to make the improvements and wait around to get reimbursed as the
rest of the west side develops," Santini said.

Additional federal and state grant money may also be available.

"The increased use of the airport will just be an added benefit to the
area," said Bobbi Park, Placer County economic development specialist.
"One of the major reasons businesses and families locate here is the
regional transportation network we have here."

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http://www.californiaaviation.org/cgi-bin/dcforum/dcboard.cgi?conf=DCConfID2

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