When Justine and Doug Turner moved to Agua Dulce 14 years ago, they thought they had found paradise. They could keep their horses on their hilltop property and enjoy panoramic views of the green Sierra Pelona Valley from their backyard patio.
Closer in, the Turners enjoyed an unfettered view of Agua Dulce Airpark, a long-abandoned landing strip with a giant red "X" painted on the ground, indicating it was no longer open for business.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Tuesday May 16, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 91 words Type of Material: Correction
Agua Dulce Airpark: An article in the May 5 California section about how the town of Agua Dulce is divided over plans to expand the local airpark identified the Agua Dulce Civic Assn. as an anti-airport group. The association opposes the airport's expansion but is not anti-airport. The article also incorrectly stated that the airfield has 10 hangars; it has 37. Also, the article was incorrect in stating that airpark owner Wayne Spears keeps his private helicopter at his mountaintop estate in Agua Dulce. He keeps the helicopter at the airpark.
Life was good in Agua Dulce for the Turners and other residents who traded the hustle and bustle of city dwelling for a quieter, more peaceful existence in the bucolic valley wedged between Santa Clarita and Palmdale.
But five years ago, a new owner assumed control of the small airport, opening up the 102 1/2 -acre property to community events, filming and aerobatic stunt flying.
Now, the field has been sold to Sylmar businessman Wayne Spears, a recreational pilot who says he wants to expand operations.
This has ignited a bitter debate over the airpark's future, pitting neighbor against neighbor, prompting allegations of tampering and fraud in local elections, sparking a lawsuit by some residents against the Agua Dulce Town Council and prompting several council members to resign.
"It's been so divisive that we literally have people walking through downtown Agua Dulce who will cross the street when they see someone coming who's against their position," said Councilman Andy Fried, who has lived in Agua Dulce for nine years. "There are people who have known each other for years, who have kids who have grown up together and spent holidays together, who all of a sudden aren't talking to each other. It's really sad. It's tearing apart our community."
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Homesteaded by hardy pioneers more than a century ago, Agua Dulce rests at the foot of historic Vasquez Rocks, tilted layers of sandstone jutting into the sky that have lured filmmakers since the early days of Hollywood. The Pacific Crest Trail winds through the gentle, green slopes, a natural haven between the booming Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys.
With a 4,600-foot runway, 10 hangars, a swimming pool and an aircraft parking area, the airpark is not much to look at.
Built by now-deceased resident Jim Annin and two partners in 1958, when there was scarcely a home in sight, the airpark now is surrounded by estates and ranchettes.
Agua Dulce became a mecca in the 1980s and '90s for middle- and upper-middle class professionals seeking escape from the crowds and congestion of Los Angeles but who shunned the cookie-cutter tract homes found in most of suburbia.
Situated 45 miles north of downtown L.A., the town of 4,000 is made up of ranches and ranchettes scattered among rolling hills. Horses graze in backyard corrals of custom estate homes, and the town's two-block-long main street is home to a market, a hardware store and a handful of mom-and-pop shops. A small vineyard operates along Sierra Highway.
Residents successfully fought Los Angeles County's attempt in the 1990s to buy the airpark and convert it to a regional airport. Afterward, the airpark sat dormant, just as solitude-seeking exurbanites discovered the sleepy town.
Residents like to describe the airport debate as a David-versus-Goliath struggle pitting a small town against a powerful businessman. Airport supporters say Wayne Spears is attempting to operate the airport responsibly, but that critics don't want to compromise.
Spears, 71, owns Sylmar-based Spears Manufacturing, which makes plastic pipes and valves. He owns a racing truck that competes on the NASCAR circuit and a helicopter that he keeps at his mountaintop estate in Agua Dulce.
"We don't have the money to fight Mr. Big Bucks," said 35-year resident Jim Jennings, president of the anti-airport group, the Agua Dulce Civic Assn. "He can hire attorneys and stuff. With us, even if you hire an attorney, you have to rely on the county, and I don't think the county has seen a development it didn't like."
Opponents say they are particularly upset by several activities that have occurred at the airport over the last two years: Noise from increased air traffic, including helicopters; all-night film shoots; aerobatic stunt flying and other unsafe maneuvers; flight school training; and large events, such as a 2004 Fourth of July celebration with fireworks.
Spears said through a spokesman that those activities occurred under the previous owner, Barry Kirshner, who sold the airpark to Spears in October and who was cited by the county for numerous permit violations.
Spears "wants to maintain the airpark as a local-serving airport for the community," said his attorney, Mark Armbruster. "He has no plans to have activities, events and services that would be there strictly to attract outsiders to fly into the airport. He's not going to do that."
