In order to get from one place to another in the city of Goleta it is sometimes necessary to drive through a part of the city of Santa Barbara. The airport area, including some 95 acres on the mountain side of Hollister Avenue, has been in the hands of Santa Barbara since the end of World War II.

The first commercial flights from the Santa Barbara Airport were in 1936 when the United Transport Corporation, soon to be renamed United Airlines, began serving the area. In the late ’30s and early ’40s voters in Santa Barbara approved bonds to make improvements to the terminal and runways. During World War II, the military took over the property and expanded the facilities. In 1946, it deeded the land back to the city, with more acreage than it had taken a few years earlier.

Included in the city’s airport property was the 95-acre section on the north side of Hollister between Fairview Road and La Patera Road. From Old Town Goleta, it goes from the Woolever Tire store to the Chrysler dealership, a distance of about half a mile. Inland, the Santa Barbara portion goes back to the railroad tracks. The land has eight former military buildings on it and one large airplane hangar, now used for storage. The Santa Barbara parcel is surrounded on the north, east and west by the new city of Goleta.

Assistant Airport Administrator Hazel Johns says the airport has recently spent $6 million in the area, repaving streets, rebuilding sidewalks and putting utilities underground. A park and picnic area called Love Commons has been on Love Place behind the airplane hangar since 1983. The park was rebuilt and replanted in the infrastructure upgrade.

"Any money generated by the airport has to be spent at the airport," said Johns. The money includes rents from the many businesses that use airport property and landing fees from airlines. The landing fee is currently $1.76 per 1,000 pounds of airplane, and since the big airliners weigh about 40,000 pounds, each landing brings in about $70. Sales tax from airport businesses goes to the state, and a portion is returned to the city of Santa Barbara.

Streets in the area are unusual in that they are named for people, including their first and last names. Cyril Hartley, Frederick Lopez, David Love and the other names on airport-area street signs were young men from Santa Barbara and Goleta who died in World War II.

Easily visible tenants in the airport business zone include Santa Barbara Chrysler Plymouth and Arrow Camper Shells. Harder to find are Goleta Building Materials, Hayward Lumber and a number of small engineering companies. Southern California Edison is the largest tenant, with offices and operating facilities on David Love Place. Edison moved in in 1983 and built the Love Commons park when it put in new buildings. A parking lot near the Cinema Twin movie theater is now used for airport security employees, who are shuttled to the terminal each day.

No new building is scheduled for the airport business zone. A recent editorial in the Valley Voice called for local (Goleta) control over many aspects of airport operations, particularly the 95 acres north of Hollister. As of this week no official talks have taken place to begin such a change.

Photo Caption: The building dates from World War II, but the streets and sidewalks are new. Dan Waller’s Precision Motorcycle Service on Botello Road is the cleanest garage for miles around. Photos by John Bury