Santa Monica Airport Bans Jet Traffic

Here's a case of national proportions to watch:


FAA CHALLENGES SANTA MONICA JET BAN
(http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archive...ll.html#197507)
Despite repeated warnings from the FAA that it has no intention of
letting Santa Monica get away with it, the city council there has
effectively shortened the single runway at Santa Monica Airport by
declaring stretches of pavement at each end as runway safety areas
(RSAs). That will effectively shorten the runway to the point
where Category C (approach speed of greater than 120 knots) and
larger aircraft won't be able to use the runway. According to the
city, that will cut 9,000 operations a year at the airport. Now,
SMO doesn't have RSAs and the FAA normally encourages and even
mandates

(http://209.85.173.104/search?q=cache...&client=safari)
RSAs at other airports but there's plenty of wiggle room in
determining how much safety is practical.