TAA sues Torrance over landing fees

On Friday, March 8, 2024, Torrance Airport Association filed a suit in the Los Angeles County Superior Court challenging the validity of the newly imposed landing fees. The new fees imposed on the users and tenants of Torrance Airport are patently unfair and allegedly violate state and federal laws.

The lawsuit challenges the fees on the following basis.

• The landing fee ordinance is preempted by federal law. The US Government (FAA) has exclusive sovereignty of airspace of the United States. This means that any attempt by the City to regulate the airspace above Torrance Airport has been preempted. This includes the regulation of flights through the use of landing fees.
• The adoption of the landing fee ordinance was arbitrary and capricious and not supported by substantial evidence. On November 28, 2023, City staff included in City Council Agenda Item 10B a written finding claiming, "The landing fees, as adopted, are necessary to offset the City's costs incurred in maintaining and operating the airport facilities." However, no evidence was presented or expressed to support this finding. Furthermore, over $10 million is transferred out of the Airport Fund every year because, per the City Charter, the money is NOT needed for operation and maintenance of the airport. This is substantial evidence that City does not need landing fees for the operation or maintenance of the Airport, but have instituted them for the improper purpose of regulating flying aircraft by financially discouraging flights at the Airport.
• The landing fee ordinance is an invalid special tax that has not been approved by voters. The City has failed to provide substantial evidence that the landing fees cover the reasonable cost of providing the service or the regulatory activity for which it is charged and is therefore an unreasonable, unconstitutional special tax subject to the two-thirds vote requirement of section 4 article 13A of the California Constitution.