Supervisors approve airpark rent adjustments

Joe Naiman

Village News Reporter

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors approved rent adjustments for four leases at Fallbrook Community Airpark.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote Sept. 28 authorized the lease amendments with Aircraft Hangar Management, LLC, Fallbrook Air Service, Inc., L18 Airpark, LLC, and Murray Investment Company. The supervisors also found the leasing of existing facilities involving negligible or no expansion of former use to be categorically exempt from California Environmental Quality Act review.

The runway at Fallbrook Community Air Park was completed in October 1964. The county took over operation of Fallbrook Community Airpark in November 1997. (When the county took over operations of the airport, "Air Park" was changed to "Airpark".)

Fallbrook Community Airpark totals approximately 290 acres. Aviation uses comprise approximately 33 acres on the northwest portion of the property. The aviation usage includes aircraft storage, maintenance, parts, supplies, repairs, and flight training services as well as runway operations and a helipad for emergency helicopter operations.

The non-aviation uses provide a buffer between the airport and residences, and they also provide the county with revenue from leases. Fallbrook Sports Park, Ingold Fields, and the Fallbrook Tennis Club are on airport land, and nurseries and other users also hold leases on the property.

Because some of that lease revenue is used for matches of Federal Aviation Administration or State Division of Aeronautics grants, no revenue from the county’s general fund is used to maintain or improve the airport. Fallbrook Community Airpark currently has 18 lessees which provide more than $500,000 annually to the county’s Airport Enterprise Fund.

The original lease with Aircraft Hangar Management, LLC, was for 5.9 acres and was approved in February 2003. Aircraft Hangar Management provided a 12,000-gallon fuel tank and 24-hour self-service operation along with space for aircraft storage and general aviation business.

The fuel facility is located on 0.13 acres of land adjacent to the original leasehold, and Aircraft Hangar Management had been utilizing the area for parking and for the fuel facility under an annually renewable airport use permit. Aircraft Hangar Management desired a new lease, which was approved by the Board of Supervisors in March 2008, to add that 0.13-acre area to the leasehold and eliminate the need to renew the annual permit. The new lease began on March 1, 2008, and will end on February 28, 2038, and is subject to annual cost of living adjustments and to renegotiation every five years.

Harry and Yvonne Aberle owned Fallbrook Community Air Park, Inc., which operated the airport until the county took over operations. In June 1988, the county, which owned the land prior to taking over operations, agreed to a sublease between Fallbrook Community Air Park, Inc., and Fallbrook Air Park Hangar Services, Inc.

After the county took over operations, the county began working with Fallbrook Air Park Hangar Services, Inc., on a lease directly from the county. That lease agreement had an expiration date of Dec. 23, 2018. In September 2000, the county supervisors approved an amended lease increasing the premises to 3.71 acres.

In 2001, the county approved a sublease from Fallbrook Air Park Hangar Services to Yvonne Aberle and, in February 2003, the county changed the agreement to allow Fallbrook Air Service to take over the sublease.

Tom Aberle, who owned Fallbrook Air Service, was the son of Harry and Yvonne Aberle. In January 2017, the county supervisors approved a new lease through Jan. 31, 2037, which included rent renegotiation every five years. Fallbrook Air Service provides flight instruction, hangar and tie-down rental, aircraft maintenance services, and sales of aircraft parts and pilot supplies.

L18 Airpark Corporation leases 4.11 acres and provides space for general aviation business and aircraft storage. (The Federal Aviation Administration’s three-character location identifier for Fallbrook Community Airpark is L18, which explains the corporation name.)

The original 30-year lease with L18 Airpark Corporation was approved by the supervisors in February 2003. The original lease called for a renegotiation of the rental rate every five years, and a discussion of the lease led to the replacement of the existing lease with a new 30-year lease approved by the county supervisors in March 2008. That lease took effect June 1, 2008, and will terminate on May 31, 2038. The new lease also calls for the rent to be renegotiated every five years.

In June 2002, the Board of Supervisors approved a 30-year lease with Fallbrook Flyers, LLC, for 0.976 acres at Fallbrook Community Airpark. Fallbrook Flyers developed aircraft storage hangars and leased them to airport users.

In March 2015, Fallbrook Flyers, LLC, assigned its leasehold interest to Murray Investment Company, LLC and, in October 2015, the county supervisors approved a revised lease with Murray Investment Company. The 30-year lease approved in 2015 will terminate on October 31, 2045, and stipulated a November 2017 initial renegotiated rent adjustment to match the renegotiation schedule of other airpark leases with subsequent renegotiated adjustments every five years.

The base monthly rents will be $3,120 for Aircraft Hangar Management, $1,950 for Fallbrook Air Service, $2,113.02 for L18 Airpark Corporation, and $500 for Murray Investment Company. The rents will have annual cost of living adjustments along with renegotiation every five years.