I kept my plane in a hangar at Oakland, (KOAK) for a time. To access my plane I was required to do a full FBI background check where they took finger prints from all my fingers and thumbs.
Once I got the OK from the feds, I then had to attend a silly class. Something like traffic school, where they had this 1980s video about jet blast, where you can and can't go and how to identify a terrorist. When you passed the written test for this class, (it was open book and really easy) I was photographed and issued a key card badge that was good for two years.
You were required to wear this badge around your neck and have it visible at all times while on airport property. If you didn't you could be fined and enforcement actions taken. There where cameras everywhere and patrols by HLS, TSA and the FAA. Basically bored mall cops and so they would look for infractions and ask questions. I was never overly hassled though in the year and half I kept my plane there.
If you wanted to drive your car to the hangar, you had to attend a different class and take another test. Then you registered all your vehicles with the airport and was issued special stickers for your vehicles. When passing in or out of the gate, you had to stop and block the gate until it finally closed all the way. You had to do this, even when someone was behind you on the inside of the fence wanting to go out. Letting two cars pass through the gate was strictly prohibited. Remember, you were on camera, so everyone complied and understood.
Motorcycles, scooters, bicycles, skateboards were all prohibited on airport property. You could drive your car, but you could not walk in the "movement area" IIRC. A lot of rules and it all cost you some money. Being able to keep my plane near my house- totally worth it.
Funny story about the Oakland 'high security"- One night a drunken yahoo from outside the airport drove a full sized van through the fence onto the airport on North Field (the GA side) in the middle of the night, drove all over the place and then passed out. He then woke up and realizing where he was and what he'd done he ran away. The van left in between the runways and the hole in the fence wasn't discovered until the next day. What he had done wasn't known until they reviewed the tapes.
Now I'm at Byron (C83) and it's a county owned airport with no real commercial operations to speak of. It' pretty much just a hobbyist's airport. We do have a real fence all the way around with cameras and they do keep it locked, but it's relaxed. You can get around any way you want. Motorcycle, bicycle or skateboard. No background check, no classes, no costs. Life is good.
I like it much better where I am, but if I had to live in Oakland again, I would absolutely jump through all the hoops to have my plane close by. It was goofy, and a bit of a pain, but it wasn't all that bad or expensive. The hangar rent there was actually cheap.
