May 1 (Bloomberg) -- California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's regular commute by private jet from the state capitol to his mansion in Los Angeles has hit turbulence.

A federal judge will decide on May 15 whether the governor can land aboard a Gulfstream IV in Santa Monica, a 15-minute drive to his home in Los Angeles' wealthy Brentwood enclave. The governor's brother-in-law, Bobby Shriver, is among the Santa Monica city council members who voted unanimously on March 25 to ban large jets at the municipal airport.

``These guys aren't listening so we have to lift the conversation to a different level,'' said Shriver, referring to proponents of allowing the jets, including the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. A surge in flights ``has changed the whole safety profile of this little airport,'' said Shriver, 54, a brother of California's first lady, Maria Shriver.

Santa Monica, a beachside town surrounded on three sides by Los Angeles, is fighting a temporary restraining order obtained by the FAA that blocks enforcement of the ordinance. A U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles will decide whether to allow the ban or delay it while the matter is resolved by a trial, Santa Monica Deputy City Attorney Martin Tachiki said.

The FAA uses Santa Monica to relieve the region's congested air traffic and advocates implementing new safety measures instead of restricting jets. The city contends a ban will protect passengers and residents from jets skidding into homes as close as 300 feet to the runway.

`Built for Propellers'

``An overrun would be disastrous,'' Tachiki said in an interview. ``Santa Monica is an old airport built for propeller planes.'' The ban would apply to jets that land at speeds of 120 knots (138 miles an hour) or faster.

The airport's 5,000-foot runway is safe and there's never been a jet accident, the FAA said in a March presentation to the city council. The city doesn't have authority to regulate air traffic, and adding a soft, concrete-like material at either end of the runway would slow runaway jets, the agency said. It also offered to help the city buy homes to make more room for planes landing and taking off.

The battle is the latest in 50 years of skirmishes between the city and the FAA over the airport, one of the nation's busiest single-runway general aviation fields. Douglas Aircraft Co. built World War II bombers there before decamping for Long Beach after the war when the city refused to expand the runway.

FAA Wins

Residents in the surrounding bungalows built for Douglas workers sued the city in the late 1960s when jets arrived. Santa Monica posted ``No Jets'' signs on the ends of the runway, leading to a successful FAA lawsuit that removed the signs and allowed jet traffic. In 1984 the city agreed to maintain the airport and not discriminate against the aircraft.

Jet landings and takeoffs have increased 14-fold since that agreement, to 18,575 in 2007. Traffic jumped 22 percent the year after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, when more business flyers began to use private planes to avoid delays caused by new security measures.

Greater use of fractional-jet ownership and ``the explosion of wealth in the area'' have contributed to the rise in traffic, Shriver said.

Schwarzenegger flies from Sacramento, 355 miles north of Santa Monica, on a Gulfstream provided by NetJets Inc., the fractional-jet company owned by billionaire Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Aaron McLear, the governor's press secretary, said Schwarzenegger uses Santa Monica and other area airports. He wouldn't comment further, citing security concerns.

Patio Table Incident

Maryann Aarseth, spokeswoman for Woodbridge, New Jersey- based Net Jets, didn't return messages seeking comment.

``If a plane overshoots the runway, passengers are going to die,'' said Virginia Ernst, who settled a suit against Las Vegas casino magnate Stephen Wynn for $3,000 when backwash from his jet destroyed her backyard patio table in 1995. ``It's a steep drop-off at either end of the runway,'' Ernst said. ``I wouldn't put myself, my family or my friends in that kind of danger.''

Wynn spokeswoman Jennifer Dunne didn't return messages seeking comment.

Jets stack up on Santa Monica's runway waiting for a break in traffic in the air, including from nearby Los Angeles International Airport. During the movie industry's Academy Awards, jets idle on the runway for hours, spewing fumes into residential streets.

Many pilots use a so-called static takeoff, revving their engines before popping the brakes and rocketing upward like a jet on an aircraft carrier. The vibrations rattle windows and set off car alarms.

`Bobby and the Communists'

Santa Monica may try to close the airport in 2015, when its agreement with the FAA expires, said Barry Schiff, chairman of the Santa Monica Airport Association, which opposes the jet ban.

``This is death by a thousand cuts,'' said Schiff, who learned to fly at the airport in 1952, when he was 14.

While the governor hasn't called to complain and probably would use a helicopter to dodge a ban anyhow, Shriver says he knows what to expect if the restriction holds.

``Now I have to drive an hour and a half because of Bobby and the communists,'' Shriver said, mimicking his brother-in- law's Austrian accent.

To contact the reporter on this story: Andy Fixmer in Los Angeles at afixmer@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: May 1, 2008 00:13 EDT