Warbird Information Exchange

A planned air museum and associated amenities for the City of Greenfield will be heard tonight when the city council considers key requirements for annexing property for the project.

The city wants to annex 135 acres for the Yanks Air Museum which needs the o.k. of the state Local Area Formation Commission or LAFCO.


The museum complex, which includes an airport, hotel, luxury RV park, fueling stations, commercial space and an educational amphitheater “could be within the city limits as early as next year,” said a news release from the city.


It’s estimated the Yanks campus will create 2,000 construction jobs and 300 permanent jobs, the release said.

Greenfield approves land annex for air museum
Action will put site in city limits

Annexation of 135 acres of land east of Highway 101 for an air museum was unanimously approved by the Greenfield City Council.

The site includes an airstrip and agricultural fields, and Tuesday's council action was to begin the annexation process by applying to the Monterey County Local Agency Formation Commission to put it within city limits.

Grading work — putting in streets and utility lines — began in November 2010 on a 35-acre portion of the site at Highway 101 and Thorne Road for the Northern California home of the Yanks Air Museum.

The museum complex would include an airport, hotel, luxury RV park, fueling stations, commercial space and an educational amphitheater. Greenfield redevelopment and housing director Paul Mugan said it is expected to create 2,000 construction jobs and 300 to 400 permanent jobs when finished.

The council action calls for rezoning the land from agricultural to artisan agricultural and visitor-serving uses.

A combined development permit for the Yanks Air Museum was issued by the county in 1997.

The project calls for a 250,000-square-foot museum, 150-room hotel, restaurants, a theater, an education center, an RV park, an airstrip, a winery and other tourist amenities.

The Yanks Air Museum owns about 165 restored aircraft, ranging from a Wright Flyer to modern jets. The plan is to share its collection of aircraft and aviation items between its Greenfield and Chino museums. Department of Commerce approved a $3.2 million federal economic development grant to connect the site to Greenfield's water and sewer systems. The project was completed in 2004.
Mugan said the complex represents the largest museum construction site since the building of the Getty Museum in the 1970s.

Kevin Howe can be reached at 646-4416 or khowe@montereyherald.com.