U.S. Coast Guard Looks for New Digs for Helicopter Crews - Is Los Alamitos A Candidate?

The U.S. Coast Guard announced Monday that it is looking for a new base of operations for helicopter crews serving the greater Los Angeles area.

When the Coast Guard’s lease was about to expire in 2011, it looked to the los Alamitos Joint Forces Training Base as one option for relocation. Ultimately, the Coast Guard opted to renew its lease with LAX. Dan Dewell, a spokesman for the Coast Guard, could not confirm if Los Alamitos, or any community, was in the running to house Coast Guard flight operations this time.

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In 2011, Los Alamitos residents expressed concerns about the potential move due to the noise impact of Coast Guard helicopters.

The Coast Guard has operated since 1962 out of leased hangars and support buildings at Los Angeles International Airport, but is being displaced as of September 2016 due to airport expansion plans.

Before the Coast Guard could relocate, environmental reviews would need to be done to assess impacts such as noise on the surrounding neighborhood.

Although the planning for a new air station has been underway for some time, a location has not been chosen. Once the site is chosen, construction and outfitting of a new facility is expected to take several years.

In the interim, Coast Guard air crews and helicopters will operate from a Forward Operating Base at Naval Base Ventura County Point Mugu in Oxnard.

Coast Guard Air Station Los Angeles conducts an average of 130 search- and-rescue cases annually. Coast Guard helicopter patrols also support interagency law enforcement, environmental protection and port security operations to protect the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, along with Port Hueneme.

The Coast Guard’s air station at LAX plays an important role in homeland security. The station’s three helicopters patrol the coast from the southern tip of Orange County up to the Moro Bay.

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• City News Service and Patch staffer Paige Austin contributed to this report.