Agenda - 05-23-1983 - Laserfiche WebLink

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— | Mmrch 28, 1983 To: Orange County Commissioners and Planning Board Members From: Citizens for Airport Planning Re: Condf ions on New Orange County Airports We are deeply interested in the issues before the Commissioners in the matter 0f|conditions for the operation of the proposed Midway Airport, because the t'ree conditions in question, if applied generally, might al- together preclude the creation of a new airport anywhere within the County. As wehaYe indicated in testimony delivered at previous meetings, we have long 'sought circumstances that would favor the establishment of an alternative the Horace Williams Airport. Although we do not seek to support specific locations, we note the overwhelming need for a facility in the southe n part of the County, close to Chapel Hill . The University's AHEC program and other activities require that an airport not be too distant from town. The University has stated unequivocally that they will not close d0w' the Horace Williams Airport in favor of a site many miles away. If the conditions now imposed upon the Midway Airport were to be extended to any new airport in the County, they would effectively prevent its development. We believe that the Commissioners have been misled by their Plan- ning Staff's recommendation that the airport control 5000 feet beyond each end of the ru way. NO SUCH REQUIREMENT EXISTS FOR ANY AIRPORT WITHIN THE ENTIRE STATE, including the RDU airport, the Charlotte airport, and many others. Mr. Bruce E. Matthews of the North Carolina Department of Trans- portation, in his testimony before the Commissioners, pointed out that he knew of no cohpmrabl$ airport ANYWHERE IN THE NATION where such conditions were set. To require them of an Orange County facility is an anomaly with the potentialIto bar any new airport from the County. We believe that this anomaly has its roots in a basic technical misunderstanding. An FAA circular describes approach and departure clear- ances for a utility airport which amount to 5000 feet, but this is not in practice an FAA requirement. Instead, according to Mr. Matthews, the FAA is primarily concerned "that no naturally occurring obstruction penetrate the specified apprVach surface." This FAA intent is the reason North Carolina actually has controlled approaches of as few as 400 feet for pub- lic airports, or as few as ten feet for private airports, located in relatively fl ' t areas. Mr. Matthews indicated that he views 1000 feet as _ - -