Secretive California Olive Grower Doesn't Want Any
Overflights
The owner of an 80-acre olive farm near Santa Rosa, California
is continuing to pursue a 2009 lawsuit which has grounded most
ballooning activities in the region, as well as pest control and
other aviation activities.
File Photo
JCM Farming incorporated filed the lawsuit against 15
defendants, only two of which remain, in Riverside Superior Court.
The other 13 have agreed to JCM's demands, had judgements entered
against them, or gone out of business. JCM has also threatened to
sue anyone who allows balloons to take of or land from their
property, and customers of the balloon companies.
The Dessert Sun reports that JCM contends the
balloons and other companies, such as one which drops sterile
insects on farmland for pest control, create a nuisance by flying
to low over the farm. JCM's attorney claims they are violating the
law and creating a danger. But the FAA has twice investigated JCM's
claims and found them to be without merit. The agency has
officially closed the matter, which caused JCM to name the FAA in
the lawsuit, as well as the USDA which operates the pest control
flights.
At the center of the controversy is a compound at the center of
the olive grove, which resembles a fortress, with walls 24 feet
high and 4 feet thick. There are warnings posted about guard dogs,
armed security guards, and "no exit." Attorneys for those named in
the suit say that the operation is not an ordinary olive farm,
based on the compound at its center. Court documents show that JCM
has applied for a private helipad, and permission for several
flights per day from the farm ... a matter which is still pending
before the County Planning Commission.
The paper reports that the owners of the farm have also sued
over their neighbor's barking dogs, as well as contractors which
worked on construction of the compound.
FAA regulations require aircraft to fly at a minimum altitude of
500 feet over the highest obstacle on the ground, and 1,000 feet
over "congested areas." The FAA does not consider the area around
the "Oasis Ranch" to be congested. Balloonists prefer the valley
for it's calm winds and nearly-ideal ballooning conditions.
JCM's lawyers contend that the noise from the burners on the
"low-flying" balloons violates the county's noise ordinance. (We
wonder if they think the "several flights per day" from the private
helipad will not do so, ed.) They also cite privacy issues.
But attorneys for those still in the fight against JCM say the
airspace is not theirs to regulate, that like a highway, it belongs
to the public.