The one unleased building in the business park at the Camarillo Airport is a former military barracks most recently used as the headquarters for the area community college. Airport officials expect it will take three to six months to fill the two-story space in the business park that generates half the revenue brought in by the Ventura County Department of Airports. “With the bigger buildings you have to find the right tenant,” said Director of Airports Todd McNamee. “With 16,000 square feet you want a tenant who will take it all because it can’t be broken up.” When it comes to general aviation in the greater Los Angeles area, all eyes turn to Van Nuys Airport the world’s busiest for private aircraft. Located on the outskirts of the city of Camarillo, bounded on two sides by farmland, the airport makes an important contribution to the economic vitality of the city and county. “It’s low-key,” said Brian Counsil, the chief financial officer of Sun Air Jets. “High profile customers appreciate that.” While Van Nuys has annual takeoffs and landings numbering in the hundreds of thousands, Camarillo has greater variety in the aircraft using its single runway and in the business and other tenants located there. Along the flight line, charter and aircraft management and maintenance companies are located. Sky Blue Air uses the alert hangars that once housed military jets. Sun Air Jets begins construction later this year on a third hangar for its expanding operations. The Waypoint Caf & #233; draws a heavy lunchtime crowd, especially for the tri-tip sandwiches served on Wednesdays. In the areas adjacent to the airport are a stunt driving school, a Greek Orthodox Church, sheriff’s shooting range, World War II aircraft museum and tech companies Logix Development Corp. and Voice Board Corp. Hundreds of people are employed at the airport and adjacent companies and institutions. The county realizes tax benefits from the sales of new and used aircraft and fuel. “There is a tremendous financial benefit from the airport,” said Mark Oberman, of Channel Islands Aviation, a service provider operating at the airport since it opened 30 years ago. An economic impact study being done as part of a revised master plan will better peg the airfield’s true value, McNamee said, adding that it probably is in the hundreds of millions. One of two airports owned by the county, the 650-acre site originated as a military airfield and home to U.S. Air Force jets that patrolled the California coast. It started its second life as a general aviation airport in 1976, seven years after the military base was decommissioned. As a concession to area residents, the county chopped off several thousand feet from the runway, restricts activity between midnight and 5 a.m., and prohibits commercial service. (The 215-acre Oxnard Airport, also owned by Ventura County, does have United Express service to Los Angeles International Airport.) The airport’s current budget stands at $6.5 million, an increase of 62 percent from seven years ago. Rent at the business park is at fair market value while the aviation side is done at cost recovery. Business park leases run for three to five years and turnover tends to be low. “They are looking for a stable environment for their business,” said Chris Hastert, deputy director of airports. Not all businesses are lucky enough to find the space they need at the airport. An attempt to bring an aviation company from the San Fernando Valley to the airport failed because there wasn’t enough space available, said John Fraser, a management assistant in the Camarillo economic development office. “Anytime you can get an industrial or technology use in town it’s certainly a benefit,” Fraser said. Space constraints, however, do not keep the airport and business park from evolving. McNamee estimates there is room left for 160 small hangars before the airport is completely built out. Sun Air invested $20 million in improvements on its lots for new hangars and office space and will make an additional investment with the third hangar scheduled for completion in 2008. Of the non-aviation businesses, a developer plans a new three-story storage facility on the corner occupied by the visiting area for the county probation department. Nearby will go the Flying High Pet Resort, which hopes to draw interest from high-end business travelers looking to board their pets. The airport benefits from an expansion taking place on the other side of Las Posas Road, its eastern boundary. The developer of the Camarillo Promenade adjacent to the outlet mall has agreed to extend a water line to the airport so that it will no longer have to rely on wells.
