Huntington Beach airshow faces major test at Coastal Commission hearing

Huntington Beach’s beloved — and controversial — annual airshow faces a pivotal test on Friday when the California Coastal Commission is set to vote on whether to grant the airshow a permit for its planned October event.

The airshow failed to get a permit in recent years from the commission, which has jurisdiction over coastal development and activities. Its staff are proposing to grant a one-time permit to the airshow in exchange for a strict list of conditions and a fine of $274,758.

The show operator would still have to come back to the Coastal Commission with a complete Coastal Development Permit application, and get the commission's approval, in order to put on future shows.

Why the airshow has been controversial

The city is currently paying the airshow a half million dollars annually, plus other perks, as part of a controversial legal settlement that came after the operator accused the city of unnecessarily canceling the show in 2021 following a major oil spill.

Critics said it was an unnecessary giveaway of public funds — at the time, hazmat crews had been dispatched to local beaches to clean up the oil and local officials were bracing for a major environmental emergency. Plus, the city refused to release the full settlement terms to the public until a local school board official sued and a judge forced the city to release them.

Then, the city sued the State Auditor to prevent it from auditing the settlement, a matter still pending in court.

What are the conditions for granting the permit?

There are 21 of them. They include:

• Hiring a biologist to monitor how the noise from low-flying planes affects wildlife in nearby wetlands
• Maximizing public access to the shoreline and pier during the event and event set-up
• Providing at least 1,500 free tickets to the show to students at local Title 1 schools and their parents
• Submitting a plan for how to handle a potential emergency fuel dump from one of the aircraft into coastal waters

What’s next?

The Coastal Commission meets Friday in Calabasas to discuss the permit. You can read their staff report here.

You can submit requests to speak and watch the livestream on their website.

If the commission decides not to grant the permit, it’s unclear whether this year’s airshow, scheduled for Oct. 3-5, will go on.