Homes Banned in Airport Safety Area : Santa Paula: Council creates a 4-tiered zone near runway. The city can ask for state funds to buy lots where a plane crash destroyed two homes.

The Santa Paula City Council on Monday approved the creation of a four-tiered safety zone around the Santa Paula Airport that bans residential construction under the flight path near the runway.

On a 4-1 vote with Councilman Alfonso C. Urias dissenting, the council adopted the state-mandated airport approach zone, which is intended to reduce potential hazards near the privately owned airport.

By prohibiting new construction in the zone nearest the airport, the city becomes eligible to apply for $200,000 in state funds to buy parcels where two homes were destroyed last August in a fiery plane crash.

Ventura County and state transportation officials have already agreed to divert funds that had been earmarked for a noise-control project at the Camarillo Airport to Santa Paula when the land-use restrictions were approved.

The county Airport Land Use Commission had previously rejected requests by Santa Paula residents Joe Garcia and Rafael Rodriguez to rebuild the demolished rental homes they owned on Santa Clara Street.

Under terms of the new zoning, the city will ban new construction in an inner safety zone consisting of two fan-shaped areas up to 450 feet wide that extend 1,200 feet beyond the ends of the airport runway. The planting of trees and construction of parks will also be prohibited in the inner safety zone.

The council has expressed the goal of eventually acquiring all of the approximately 20 parcels within the inner zone, where at least 12 residences and four businesses now exist.

The construction of residences, hotels and motels will be banned in the outer safety zone, which extends in a wedge-shaped area 2,500 feet beyond the inner safety zone.

Property owners in the outer safety zone will be allowed to build structures that conform to industrial and manufacturing zoning, but the ordinance limits the size of any building to one-quarter of its parcel.

In a provision of the ordinance that will affect property throughout Santa Paula, the council amended the city’s General Plan to prohibit the rebuilding of nonconforming structures--something Santa Paula previously allowed when more than half of a building was destroyed. Since no residential zoning exists in the outer safety zone, homeowners in the zone will not be allowed to rebuild their houses if the houses are destroyed.

The ordinance also creates a height restriction zone that extends 1,050 feet from the center of the runway. Structures within the oval-shaped zone will be limited in height by federal aviation regulations, with no structure exceeding 150 feet.

The height restrictions will apply to a small portion of downtown Santa Paula and may force state highway officials to order the pruning of trees flanking the Santa Paula Freeway, said Joan Kus, the city’s planning director.

A traffic pattern zone also will be created to encompass a three-square-mile area, including the two safety zones. Restrictions in the traffic pattern zone will apply to large assemblies of people. Prohibited uses will include churches, hospitals, schools and amphitheaters.

Another provision of the ordinance gives the city veto power over any reconfiguration of the airport’s runway.

Urias did not explain his opposition to the measure Monday, but in the past he has said he believes it is unfair for neighbors of the airport to be forced to move when some of them were there before the facility was built.