L.A. Council Approves Sky Harbour's Van Nuys Airport Hangar Leases Over Neighbors' Objections

The two leases, worth at least $112 million to the city over up to 32 years, come with about $133 million in promised investment. Three smaller leases for Joby, Paramount and the Condor Squadron also passed 13-0.

By Herald Staff · Nov. 8, 2026, 11:30 AM ET

Aerial view of Van Nuys Airport on a sunny day, its two parallel runways running diagonally through the frame, lined with hangars, business jets parked on ramps and the San Fernando Valley street grid stretching to the horizon. — Van Nuys Airport from the air in 2021. The L.A. City Council approved five airport leases on Nov. 6, including two Sky Harbour Group sites on Woodley Avenue and Hart Street. Photo: Platinummedia (cropped) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (license).

VAN NUYS — The Los Angeles City Council on Friday approved five leases at Van Nuys Airport, including two long-term deals that let Sky Harbour Group modernize and potentially rebuild about 25 acres of hangars and aviation land, after a public comment period split between Valley residents asking for an airport-wide environmental review first and business and labor groups pointing to hundreds of promised jobs, according to a meeting summary from Civic.fm.

The five items passed 13-0 without debate. The Board of Airport Commissioners, which oversees Los Angeles World Airports, had approved all five on Sept. 23.

Two Sky Harbour Sites, Up to 32 Years

The largest deal covers 7701 Woodley Ave., about 16 acres with 150,559 square feet of hangar, office and storage space. Airport staff drew six proposals for the site in April and ranked VNY Development LLC, a subsidiary wholly owned by Sky Harbour, highest. Under the lease, the company committed to invest about $110 million in potential renovation of existing hangars, new hangars and support buildings, ramp improvements and an aviation campus for aircraft based at the field, according to the board's resolution. The board estimated it would bring in at least $83.4 million over 32 years, assuming the extension option is used, and projected 427 temporary construction jobs and 173 permanent positions.

The second covers 16425 Hart St., 8.83 acres with 69,400 square feet of hangar and office space. There, VNY Development II LLC, also wholly owned by Sky Harbour, committed about $23 million and will seek to rezone about 1.17 acres now zoned for commercial use to general aviation, according to its resolution. If that rezoning fails, the plan could include office or other commercial space with less room for hangars. The board estimated at least $29.24 million in revenue over the full term, 227 temporary construction jobs and 120 permanent positions.

Both leases run five years at first, with up to two more years for construction delays and one 25-year extension option. Both resolutions say the leases do not approve any construction, and that no redevelopment can proceed until it clears the California Environmental Quality Act and federal environmental law. The board found the lease approvals themselves exempt from CEQA because they cover existing airport facilities, according to the transmittal to the council. Each company also agreed to fund training for up to 12 local interns a year as aviation line service technicians through Sky Harbour Academy, and to a labor partnership with LiUNA Local 300.

Joby, Paramount and the Condor Squadron

The council also approved three 10-year leases: one with Joby Aero at 7646 Hayvenhurst Ave., estimated at about $1.75 million over the term; one with Paramount Global Corporate Aviation for a general aviation facility at 7150 Hayvenhurst Ave., about $8.3 million; and one with the Condor Squadron Officers' and Airmen's Association at 7800 Hayvenhurst Ave., about $307,000, Civic.fm reported from the agenda. The agenda said none of the leases affects the city's General Fund.

Neighbors Wanted a Plan First

About six speakers, most of them airport neighbors including members of the Van Nuys Airport Citizens Advisory Council, urged the council to delay or reject the leases. They cited the lack of an airport-wide environmental review, a specific plan dating to 2005, jet noise and fumes, and the unclear long-term use of the Joby site, according to Civic.fm. Several said they were not asking to close the airport.

In a written comment on the Hart Street lease, Lake Balboa resident and advisory council member Alicia Avery wrote that a commitment “extending potentially three decades should be evaluated within an updated airport-wide planning framework, not solely through the review of an individual lease.” The Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, in an Oct. 4 statement, argued the board acted before an updated Van Nuys Airport Specific Plan that council motions from 2023 had called for.

About six speakers backed the leases, including the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, a Valley economic alliance, Laborers Local 300 and Sky Harbour itself. Sky Harbour speakers said the two projects would create about 600 jobs and keep 300 maintenance jobs at the Woodley site, Civic.fm reported.

Councilmember Imelda Padilla, whose Sixth District includes the airport, said she had expected a presentation from the airport department before the vote; none was given, and she agreed to let the items move ahead.

Any actual construction at either Sky Harbour site will still need its own environmental review, which gives neighbors another opening to weigh in before anything is built.

Original reporting by The Los Angeles Herald, drawing on Board of Airport Commissioners resolutions and public comment in the L.A. City Clerk file, Civic.fm and the Sherman Oaks Neighborhood Council, as linked above.