The Santa Monica airport is set to close—but some residents would rather keep the noise and pollution than build new housing

In the neighborhoods surrounding the Santa Monica Airport, homeowners know little peace. Every few minutes, the whine of a jet engine intrudes on the suburban soundscape.

But relief is coming. In 2017, locals won a more than seven-decade fight to close the airport. It’s scheduled to shutter once and for all on Dec. 31, 2028. 

Santa Monica residents voted in 2014 to build a park on the site of the airport. But as the 2028 closure date approaches, some residents, councilmembers...