HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunity Planners Start Interviews About Sebastian AirportCommunity Planners Start Interviews About Sebastian Airport
By PATRIUIureffl ALLA
Sebastian B3au Chief
Airport critics and supporters got their
first chance Thursday to tell Sebastian's
consultants what needs to be included in
the airport/community compatability
study.
Linda Strutt and Jean West, community
planners with Williams, Hatfield and
Stoner, assured the 17 individuals and
groups they talked to that the two days of
interviews were only the first of many
opportunities for public input throughout
the study process.
10 .minutes they have now is their only programs for the Federal Aviation Admin-
chance," Ms. Strutt said. istration, which has to approve it.
She said Williams, Hatfield and Stoner
were considering setting up workshop
sessions to bring together divergent
groups to iron out the issues, and solicited
cooperation from the Roseland Property
Owners Association and Citizens Airport
Watch of Sebastian.
The interviews will form part of the
basis on which Williams, Hatfield and
Stoner will prepare a scope of work for the
compatibility study.
"It will be the basis of the study upon
which we determine the eligibility of the
work and the reasonableness of the cost
that they identify for the study," Mrs. Qui-
nones-Flott said.
"It defines the tasks, the purpose, the di-
rection of the study. Depending on how it
is written up, it could either focus on the
airport or the community. The standstill
agreement directs us to have balance be-
tween them."
The scope of work is important, said Ilia Some of the options suggested for con -
"We don't want people to think that the A. Quinones-Flott, manager of plans and sideration in the study include:
• Roseland Property Owners Associ-
ation: move the airport; close existing
runways and reopen the east/west runway
to lessen impact on residential areas; build
a runway strip west of I-95 for training
flights; curtail or severely limit night
flights; establish and enforce noise limita-
tions; set circulation patterns and altitude
levels for aircraft.
* Citizens Airport Watch: relocate the
airport and protect it by proper zoning;
ban training flights; reopen east/west
runway and eliminate the two now being
used; mandate circulation patterns and
sound limitations to reduce noise in resi-
dential areas; sell excess airport land for
city or other community uses; build a
training strip to the west; avoid installing
equipment that will encourage night oper-
ations or noisier operations; retain landing
fees, but lessen impact on airport tenants;
retain noise limits.
• Vice Mayor Robert McCarthy: reopen
east/west runway to alleviate noise over
residential areas; have' planes fly over
uninhabited areas and industrial parcels;
don't expand airport, keep it small.
is Robert Morrow, former chairman of
the now -defunct Airport Advisory Board:
put in an industrial park at the northwest
part of the airport property and use the
money for infrastructure.