SAN DIEGO — Montgomery Field, located just north of this serene city, is owned and operated by the City of San Diego. It sees some 275,000 annual operations and is home to 650 based aircraft as well as, for nearly 70 years, fixed base operator GIBBS Flying Service, Inc. While both the city and owner of GIBBS Flying Service, William “Buzz” Gibbs, agree on the future of the general aviation airport and the market it serves, Gibbs says the city would prefer to take over his business for the revenue, while the city contends it’s doing what is in the best interests of the airport.

The history of the Gibbs family and Montgomery Field are closely tied. Buzz’s father, Bill Gibbs, founded the airport in 1937. The city purchased the airport in 1948 and GIBBS Flying Service has leased land from the city since. The FBO is home to some 1,000 members of six flying clubs.

The long-term lease which GIBBS Flying Service had with the city for some 24 acres expired June 1, 2005, says Gibbs. It was a 35-year lease, “and there had been numerous leases before that,” he points out.

According to Gibbs, he has been trying for several years to renegotiate his lease with the city, but was turned away each time. “We’ve had many meetings over the years,” he says. “I sent them one proposal in January of 2003. I had my facility appraised; I had the airport land values appraised; I had all the drawings and improvements laid out. Three months later I get a letter back that says thank you for your interest, but we’re not interested in talking with you at this time.”

Gibbs says he sent similar letters to the city every six months following the first letter. He says other tenants at Montgomery Field went “down to the wire” with negotiations with the city and “my assumption was that everything is going to stay the same — nobody gets serious until everything gets right to the end and then everybody gets serious. This particular time, they got serious in a different way. Instead of trying to work something out, they just wanted to take it away — which was their right.”

In a meeting with the city, Gibbs says officials “basically said tear everything down and start over again. And I said that makes no sense.”

Gibbs says the city’s argument was that the buildings were 35 years old and needed to be replaced. “I said if I’m going to build them, I’d build the exact same. They haven’t changed the design of single-engine T-hangars.”