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Airport Consulting Firms:
The County has two airport consultants consisting of Airport Planning, Architecture/Engineering, Environmental, and Consulting Services. These consultant firms will provide design, planning, engineering, construction management and environmental review/approval services associated with the airfield improvements identified on the Airport Capital Improvement Plan (ACIP) for funding in the next five (5) years. The County awarded two firms, Mead and Hunt and ESA and they have provided Scopes of Work (SOW) and will begin working on projects for the next steps in the proposed 300 ft. runway extension once approved by the Board of Supervisors in July.
Airport Project Updates:
Non-Precision Approach Runway Marking
You may have noticed that the runway markings look a little different on the approach to runway 13. The added markings allowed the FAA to reduce the instrument approach ceiling minimums from 1,300 feet to 820 feet which were published February 23, 2023.
Crack Seal and Asphalt Repairs
Earlier this spring, two large areas of asphalt were repaired in front of the north County building hangar doors and near the parking area of CB Aviation’s fuel trucks. Also planned is the parallel taxiway for Runway 13/31 and portions of the tiedown ramp and taxiways in between hangars will be crack sealed by our Marin County Roads Department throughout the summer.
Airport Lighting
The County building at 351 Airport Road received electrical work by airport staff repairing 7 outdoor flood lights and 3 LED PG&E outdoor streetlights.
New Food Vending Machines
This spring we have installed a new food and beverage vending machine in the County buildings Pilot’s Lounge. Please stop in and checkout the variety of items for purchase. You can use cash or credit card for your purchases. An additional vending machine was also just installed in the downstairs office of CB Aviation. Please stop in and support a new local business!
CB Aviation
CB Aviation has decided to not renew its first 5-year lease extension with the County. However, they have entered a month-to-month lease with the County and are still providing fuel and hangar services for the airport.
General Airport Issues and Requests:
Noise Abatement Procedures:
Noise sensitive residents occupy homes to the south and southeast of the airport. Please follow the Noise Abatement Procedures. Please, no straight in approaches to runway 31 and no straight-out departures from runway 13 over the homes. It truly helps with the noise for our neighbors to the south!
Unauthorized Contractors and Mechanics:
A permit must be obtained from the Airport Manager prior to any mechanical work or aircraft detailing services performed at Gnoss Field. Any aircraft/hanger owner who hires unauthorized contractors to work on Gnoss Field will be held responsible for allowing unauthorized work to be performed at the airport. If tenants are found to violate Marin County Code (see below for specifics), fines will be accessed to both the aircraft and or hanger owner and they may lose the use of your storage permit and the ability to base their aircraft at Gnoss Field.
Airport staff is currently in contact with DPW, the FAA, and County Counsel concerning on-going issues of unauthorized contractors working on the field to determine correct next steps moving forward with violations and remedies to the violations.
Marin County Code 12.04.050 – Business activities:
No person shall use the airport in any manner whatsoever for any commercial, profit, gainful, or revenue producing purpose, including, without limitation, flight instruction or mechanical work, without written approval of Marin County. No person shall distribute, post or display any commercial or noncommercial signs, circulars, handbills or advertisements on the airport without the consent of the airport manager. No person shall solicit funds for any purpose on the airport.
Marin County Code 12.04.210 – Violations:
Any person who violates any provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a period not to exceed six months or a fine not to exceed the sum of five hundred dollars, or by both such imprisonment and fine.
July 2023 CPI Increase:
On your July 2023 statements, the CPI will be adjusted on your billing to the new monthly rate. The CPI rate of 4.2% rounded to the nearest dollar will be used from the April Consumer Price Index, San Francisco Area. Also, please check your monthly statements from the Department of Finance for amounts past due. The new CPI increase take effect in July each year, many of you have your monthly statements on autopay and there are outstanding fees still due on several accounts. Please check your account balances and pay the unpaid amounts in full. If you have any questions or want to know if you have an outstanding amount due, please call the Department of Finance (DOF) at 415-473-7555.
Aircraft Storage Permits and Insurance:
Please update your information with current aircraft and contact information on your space at Gnoss Field. Per the County Aircraft Storage Permit for habitually situated aircraft:
“All Permittees agree to disclose all aircraft he/she has caused to locate on the Airport and shall be financially responsible for these aircraft or for any other access onto the property granted by this permit. Any owner shall furnish the County, in advance of arrival of the aircraft, evidence of financial responsibility in the minimum requirements of: $1,000,000 combined single limit coverage with exception of per/passenger sub-limit of $100,000.”
Both County Code and the airport Aircraft Storage Permit state that ALL hangars are to be used for aircraft Storage as the primary use (9c. “Principal and Primary use of permit space shall be for storage of aircraft only. Use of the space for any other primary purpose will result in revocation of the permit”).
County Code and Aircraft Storage Permits (9f. also states that the “Permittee shall notify the Airport Manager or his/her designee within thirty (30) days of transaction of sale or relocation of the aircraft of record on this permit. Failure to register an aircraft to this permit within sixty (60) days of this transaction will be cause for County to revoke this permit.”
Please use the link below to update your hangar and aircraft information: http://bit.ly/AircraftStorageForm
Trash and Recycle Bins:
Please only put allowed items in the Trash and Recycle dumpsters. Items that are not allowed are still being discarded in the dumpsters and the airport is getting charged extra for these items. Staff will be closely monitoring the video cameras and contacting offenders to recover these extra fees in the future. Also, please DO NOT leave ANY items outside the dumpster enclosures.
The only acceptable fluids in the recycle shed is used aircraft motor oil. DO NOT leave propane tanks, electronics, paints, thinners, or any type of solvents. These are not recyclable and hazmat service providers are very expensive to discard these items. This is an ongoing problem and staff may have to place locks on the dumpsters and recycle shed if this persists. Thank you for your help and cooperation!
FAA Hangar Use Policy and Sponsor Responsibilities:
The primary purpose of Gnoss Field hangars must be for Aircraft Storage. If no aircraft is in your hangar, the hangar must be empty. Staff will be following up with individual hangar owners that have no aircraft associated to their hangar.
As an Airport Sponsor who accepts Federal airport grants, the County is bound by the conditions and assurances in the associated grant agreements. These obligations include grant assurances related to use of hangars and other designated aeronautical facilities on the airport for exclusively aeronautical purposes. Please follow the link below for more information:
Vehicle/Trailer Parking on the AOA:
All vehicles must be parked inside your hangar for overnight flights. There is no long-term parking on the airport AOA or County Property. Vehicles that are parked on the AOA for extended periods of time (overnight) will receive notice that vehicles parked overnight should be inside your hangar or the long-term parking areas outside the AOA. Upon a second notice of parking violations, your vehicles may be towed at the vehicle owners’ expense.
Thank you and fly safe!
For further questions or comments, please contact:
Dan Jensen, Airport Manager, at (415) 897-1754 or djensen@marincounty.org