In any action or proceeding to abate the use of an airport or an airpark, proof that the airport or airpark has been in existence for three years constitutes a rebuttable presumption which shall be prima facie evidence that the operation of the airport or airpark does not constitute a nuisance.
§ 731b.Rebuttable Presumption that Airport Operation Not Nuisance
Title 10. Actions In Particular Cases · Chapter 2. Actions for Nuisance, Waste, and Willful Trespass, in Certain Cases, on Real Property · Enacted 1953 · no amendments on record · Last verified July 28, 2026
In one sentenceSection 731b creates a rebuttable presumption, treated as prima facie evidence, that an airport or airpark operating for at least three years is not a nuisance in any action or proceeding to abate its use.
Full Text of § 731b
Plain-English Summary
Airports and airparks generate the kind of noise and traffic that invites nuisance complaints, and § 731b gives long-established ones a measure of protection. Once an airport or airpark has been in existence for three years, that fact alone serves as prima facie evidence — a rebuttable presumption — that its operation isn't a nuisance.
The presumption doesn't foreclose a challenge; it shifts the practical burden onto whoever seeks to abate the airport's use to overcome that presumption with evidence of their own. It pairs naturally with § 731a's broader protection for permitted uses in zoned industrial and commercial districts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does operating an airport for three years mean it can never be found a nuisance?
Not automatically, but § 731b creates a rebuttable presumption — prima facie evidence — that the airport's operation is not a nuisance, which the person seeking to abate it must overcome.
What kind of proof triggers this presumption?
Proof that the airport or airpark has been in existence for three years.
Amendment History
Added by Stats. 1953, Ch. 52.
Source & verification. Section text is reproduced verbatim from
the Deering's California Codes Annotated / vLex. Enacted by the California Legislature.
Last verified July 28, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: airport nuisance presumption californiaairpark three year rule