Airport Land Use Commission

ALUC Purview

Each local agency whose general plan includes areas covered by an Airport Comprehensive Land Use Plan (CLUP) must refer to the ALUC for a CLUP consistency determination any proposed adoption or amendments to the following plans, ordinances, or regulations:

• General Plan
• Specific Plan
• Zoning Ordinance
• Building Codes

Submitting a Referral to the Santa Clara County Airport Land Use Commission (ALUC) requires an appointment to be scheduled with County ALUC Staff. The submission appointment is flexible, in that it can be scheduled for either in person or virtually (via Microsoft Teams).

To make an appointment call 1(408)299-5700 - Check Phone Hours and select option #2 for “Appointment” to request an “ALUC Referral Appointment”.  When scheduling your appointment please indicate if you would like the appointment to be in person or online.

Submitted Referrals will not be scheduled for a hearing before the ALUC until the referral application is deemed complete. The ALUC has 60 days after submittal of a complete application to act on a referral per Public Utilities Code section 21676(d). A complete application status is determined by ALUC staff and applicants will be notified of the status (completeness) of a referral request within two weeks of submission.

Applications that are deemed incomplete will be provided with incomplete items via an incomplete letter. Resubmissions are to be scheduled directly with the ALUC coordinator. Submittal Requirements are as follows:

Submittal Requirements

1. Referral Application form with all information filled out and completed.
2. Referral Description Letter – Clearly explain all proposed legislative actions, the location(s) and total acreage of the affected areas, the type(s) of uses that would be allowed, the maximum height allowed, and the maximum allowed occupancy (persons per acre).
   • Provide maps clearly identifying the areas that would be affected by the proposed legislative actions and the relevant General Plan, Specific Plan, Zoning, or Building Code designations that are proposed to apply to each area.
   • Provide a draft of each proposed legislative action identifying all proposed changes to the text and figures using “track changes” or other underline/strikeout format.
   • If any changes are made to the proposed legislative action after submission of the referral, immediately contact County Planning Staff and submit a new referral.
3. Fee – A check payable to County of Santa Clara. Consult County Planning Staff for initial review and determination of type and applicable fees. The current ALUC referral fee is $1829.
4. Maps – All maps are required to be in a format set for 11x17, in color, and in pdf format. The Maps are to provide the project area (boundaries) within the applicable Airport Influence Area (AIA), Part 77 contours (height), CNEL contours (noise), safety zones, and flight paths. (GIS layers for those available here).
   • Additional Maps (“inset maps”) are required to provide a detailed view of a section of the main maps when project scopes involve large areas of land within the applicable AIA, Part 77 contours (height), CNEL contours (noise), and safety zone data overlayed, and flight paths relative to the “Project” scope.
   • Maps are also required to label location information for the “Project” area, major roads, expressways, freeways, and other identifying information.

 

NEWS

February 07, 2024

FUTURE PROCESS FOR SUBMISSION: The Department of Planning and Development is currently working to improve the submission process for ALUC referrals by creating a online portal for submission. Once the portal is ready for release, this page will be updated with instructions to submit for online submission.

Please ensure you submit a complete ALUC referral application along with the required documentation mentioned in the application.

ALUC referral application