In-law is no help with Schwarzenegger's flight plans

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - If Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger loses his precious access to the neighborhood Santa Monica Airport he uses to fly to Sacramento, he can thank his brother-in-law Bobby Shriver.

The Santa Monica City Council voted last month to ban large private jets, such as Schwarzenegger's Gulfstream IV, from using its airport for fear the planes could crash into neighboring homes if they overshoot the short, 4,987-foot runway.

Shriver is on the council, which voted unanimously for the prohibition.

The ban is on hold, however, after the Federal Aviation Administration obtained a temporary restraining order Monday. A federal district judge is expected to review the matter May 15.

The Republican governor commutes almost daily from his Brentwood home, often using Santa Monica Airport, Shriver said.

For Schwarzenegger, reaching the bigger Van Nuys Airport can mean a 14-mile drive, including a nine-mile slog on the congested I-405 freeway, compared with a trip less than half the distance on city streets to Santa Monica.

Shriver said he had not heard from Schwarzenegger yet, but he expects to.

"Arnold will come up with something like, 'Now I have to go all the way to Van Nuys because of Bobby and his communist friends,' " Shriver said, doing an impression of Schwarzenegger's Austrian accent.

Shriver said he was not sympathetic: "You know, get in the back of your limo and make your calls."

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said he did not know whether the governor was even aware of the attempted ban.

The FAA contends that local governments cannot bar aircraft from airports.

The Gulfstream IV is a category C plane, which has an approach speed faster than the ordinance's maximum of 139 miles per hour.

"These aircraft, category C and D jets, have been landing safely at that airport for years and years and years," said Ian Gregor, an FAA spokesman. "The issue of safety has to do with the 4,987-foot runway, and all of these planes have performance specifications that show they can land and take off on a runway of that length."

Martin Tachiki, Santa Monica deputy city attorney, said the airport "is very tightly constrained."

"There are homes within 300 feet of the ends of the runway," he said. "We're concerned because we have no runway safety area. If there's an overrun, an aircraft could conceivably leave the airport boundaries and go into homes."

Schwarzenegger routinely flies between Santa Monica and Sacramento, about a 50-minute flight.

Shriver drew attention after the governor removed him and director Clint Eastwood from the California Park and Recreation Commission earlier this year.

McLear said the governor only wanted to give others a chance to serve; Shriver suggested the governor was disappointed in the panel's opposition to a toll road through San Onofre State Beach.

Shriver said his removal from the commission did not influence his decision to vote for the airport ban.