Aviation Museum of Santa Paula

The year 2005 was a year of change for Santa Paula Airport, and also impacted the Aviation Museum and the plan for the property immediately adjacent to the eastern edge of the airport. The property sustained damage in the flooding of the Santa Clara River in February, 2005. The Aviation Museum has partnered with Prairie Pacific LLC in developing this property. The following information is excerpted from an article written by Bill Lindsay of Prairie Pacific LLC for our newsletter, explaining the current status of the Heritage Project.

"Developing can be just like sitting at the airport waiting for your flight to depart and not sure what is going to happen. Whether something will be delayed, rescheduled or all together cancelled. The proposed Santa Paula Air Park Hangar/Residential Complex has seen its fair share of delays and rescheduling, but one thing I can report to you is that it is not cancelled. We are still very excited about this development. Throughout the week we receive calls from individuals regarding the development and calls from those who are still wanting to be put on the prospective buyers list.

We are continuing to work with the Museum Board and individuals to achieve the goals of this project. Here are some of the current details of the Development.

After the heavy rains we have had the opportunity to reconfigure our Site Plan. The County has a new updated flood flow line which impacted building in this area. Also, it has been a tough job trying to meet the safety zones and their requirements of no building in these areas. The Museum location will be relocated due to these setback requirements and also trying to increase the number of Hangar Units available. This will maximize the funds going to the Museum.

Recently we feel we met all these requirements and have resubmitted our project to the City of Santa Paula and various agencies. Our project now includes 34 Hangars/Residential Units and 2 Light Industrial Units. The largest Unit be 48/40 with the smallest being a 40/30. These Units will be completely finished with granite counter tops to appliances in each Unit. There will also be landscaping and stamped concrete walkways throughout the complex.

The City has required that we designate this area as a Specific Plan Area. In working with the City, the City Manager has asked if we would also include the area north of our property in the Specific Plan. We agreed and are continuing to work on a master plan for the entire area. This plan would include street improvements, overhead power lines being placed underground, and an overall redevelopment in this area.

In looking forward to 2006 we could possibly go before the Planning Commission and City Council sometime in the spring (April or May), possibly having sales starting over the summer (July or August). Construction will possibly start at the end of the year. This is a very unique project and requires considerable planning and coordination with individuals, Government Groups and Agencies. Prairie Pacific and I want to thank the Museum Board for their time and their continued support throughout this development process. I know this will be a great development and a great asset for both the City of Santa Paula and the Airport."