Help Us Protect Wickenburg Municipal Airport

"SR300" wrote in message
...
Background
In October, 2006, the Wickenburg Town Council approved a 34-unit housing
development called Hermosa Ranch on 35 acres off the approach end of
Runway 23. The development property is less than 3500 feet from the end of
the runway. Although no homes will be built right beneath the centerline,
they will be less than 100 feet away from that line. Using FAA glide slope
standards, we calculated that airplanes could fly less than 200 feet above
ground in this area. And, as pilots, we know that aircraft often drift off
the centerline.

Town Planner and Council Approve Despite Opposition by Concerned Residents
The development's proposal was approved by Wickenburg's Town Planner, who
is also the Airport Manager, despite the fact that two members of the
public attended the Planning and Zoning meeting and voiced concerns about
the development's unusually high density for Wickenburg and its proximity
to the airport. These same two members of the public spoke at the October
Town Council meeting. They were ignored again and the plan was approved.

Airport Advisory Commission Not Consulted
The town of Wickenburg has an Airport Advisory Commission that meets
monthly and discusses issues related to the airport. It advises the Mayor
and Council on airport matters. This Airport Commission includes a Town
Council member and the AOPA Airport Network volunteer member. The
commission was not consulted on this matter and neither of these empowered
members stepped forward to suggest that the commission be consulted.

Open Space Designation Ignored
It should be mentioned here that this same parcel of land is included in
the Town's General Plan as "open space" land. The previous Town
Planner/Airport Manager had the good sense to realize that developing land
so close to the airport would cause problems in the future. Either the
Town of Wickenburg saw fit to ignore the "open space" designation when
allowing the developer to put in his housing development or the Town
Planner is incapable of reading a color-coded map.

Just so you know, these types of plans really aren't worth anything from a
legal standpoint. How property is zoned is what matters.

Future Instument Approaches and Commuter Airline Service Impossible
It should also be mentioned here that with homes so close to the airport's
glideslope, it will be impossible to ever get an instrument approach at
Wickenburg Municipal Airport. This means Wickenburg will never get
commuter airline service currently available at Prescott, Lake Havasu
City, Bullhead City, and Kingman, AZ.

Local Pilots Contact AOPA and the FAA for Help
Several town resident, who are pilots and member of AOPA, saw the threat
to the airport and decided to act.

AOPA Does Nothing
A town resident who operates a helicopter charter business based at the
airport wrote to AOPA about the problem. It was referred to the AOPA
Airport Network Volunteer, who did nothing.

This same town resident also wrote to Phil Boyer, President of AOPA, on
two occasions -- by U.S. Mail and by e-mail. She included the
illustrations you see here. He did not respond to either communication.

Other AOPA members based at the airport contacted AOPA. They were referred
to the Airport Network Volunteer and the FAA.

The FAA Demands an Explanation from Wickenburg
The helicopter operator wrote to the FAA, citing the town's violation of
its Airport Sponsorship Agreement with the FAA. This agreement provides
assurances to the FAA that the town will operate the airport and
surrounding area in a matter satisfactory to the FAA in order to receive
federal funding. The airport's runway had recently been lengthened with
federal funds at a cost of millions of taxpayer dollars. According to
Paragraph 21 of the agreement:

Compatible Land Use. It [the town] will take appropriate action, to the
extent reasonable, including the adoption of zoning laws, to restrict the
use of land adjacent to or in the immediate vicinity of the airport to
activities and purposes compatible with normal airport operations,
including landing and takeoff of aircraft....

The FAA wrote to the Airport Manager:

Assurance 21, Compatible Land Use, stipulates that the Town will take all
reasonable measures to restrict land uses adjacent to the airport to
activities that are compatible with normal airport operations. Residential
property in the vicinity of the airport is not a compatiable land use.
Airport noise will inevitably cause homeowners to complain about the
airport and demand restrictions on airport operations. The FAA does not
support this type of development next to the airport. In view of Assurance
21, why would the Town approve residential homes so close to the airport?

A Town Resident Uses Her Constitutional Right to Petition for Redress of
Grievances
The helicopter operator then attempted to stop the development by putting
it to the vote of townspeople.

The First Petition is Submitted and Rejected
She gathered 77 signatures -- 14 more than the 63 required -- on a
petition to put the development to a vote. Unfortunately, this
well-meaning resident didn't understand what was required in the wording
for a petition and the petition was rejected by the town in November 2006.

The Mayor Announces a Conflict and a New Vote is Taken
Right around the same time, the Mayor suddenly revealed that he had a
conflict of interest in the development. Members of his family owned a
3-6% interest in the project. The initial vote was rejected and a new vote
was taken with the mayor sitting in the back of the room. The six council
members -- one of which is a Realtor, another who sits on the Airport
Commission-- again approved the development -- despite the petition and
letter from the FAA.

A Second Petition is Started
Because of the new vote, there is another 30-day period to attempt a new
petition. Unfortunately, because of high turnout for the recent election,
231 signatures are now required.

The helicopter operator hires an attorney to help her compose the language
for the petition. She creates a political committee, the Committee to Stop
Irresponsible Development, so she can get volunteers to help her collect
signatures. Approximately a dozen people step forward to help. Signatures
are gathered.

The Developer Sues the Town
In an effort to invalidate the date of the second vote (thus making the
second petition invalid), the developer sues the Town of Wickenburg. The
town does nothing to fight this lawsuit.

The Town Responds to the FAA
The Airport Manager, in an overly friendly letter to the FAA, claims that
"noise exposure patterns were analyzed for the airport's long term
activity conditions." This work was done by the Airport Consulting firm
hired and paid for by the Town of Wickenburg. It showed little or no
impact for Hermosa Ranch.

Given the photo shown above and the complaints by current residents in the
adjacent housing development, it's hard to believe that the residents of
Hermosa Ranch will not be affected by airport noise -- and complain about
it.

The Voters Keep Fighting
The helicopter operator continues to provide updated information to the
FAA. And she continues to work hard to use her Constitutional Right of
Petition for Redress of Grievances to protect the airport.

The Second Petition is Submitted and Rejected
By November month-end, volunteers for the Committee to Stop Irresponsible
Development submit the petition on time with 336 signatures -- 105 more
than what is required. Nearly every single person who was asked to sign
signed. Clearly, the people wanted to bring this to a vote.

Unfortunately, the well-meaning helicopter operator who started the
petition put the wrong number in the lower right corner of the petition
forms. In January 2007, the Town of Wickenburg used this technicality to
reject the petitions.

The Petitioner Sues the Town
The Committee to Stop Irresponsible Development sued the town in an effort
to get the petition accepted by the Town. Legal costs are estimated at
$6,000 to take this action through three levels of the court. The
Committee is actively seeking contributions to cover this cost. However,
any costs that are not covered by donations will be borne by the
helicopter operator who began the fight to protect the airport.

How You Can Help
Do you use Wickenburg Airport? Do you care about it? Do you care about all
General Aviation Airports threatened by residential encroachment?

If so, you can help us.

Write to AOPA
If you are an AOPA member, write to AOPA about our problem. Tell them
you're worried about the future of this airport. Tell them that you've
read about their efforts in Upland, CA, which involved a similar
situation.

Here's who you can write to:

Phil Boyer
President
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
421 Aviation Way
Frederick, MD 21701

Bill Dunn
Vice President, Airports
Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association
421 Aviation Way
Frederick, MD 21701

Write to the FAA
The FAA has the power to cut funding to the airport. This power, when
wielded, should be enough to show the Town of Wickenburg that their
decision to allow this development is a mistake. Contact the FAA and tell
them that you care about the future of Wickenburg Airport.

Here's who you can write to:

Kimchi Hoang
Airports Program Manager
FAA Airports Division - LAX ADO
P.O. Box 92007
Los Angeles, CA 90009-2007

Anthony Garcia
Federal Aviation Administration
Western-Pacific Region Airports Division
15000 Aviation Boulevard, Room 3024
Lawndale, CA 90261


Contact the Concerned Pilot Spearheading this Effort
Maria Langer is a commercial helicopter pilot, owner/operator of Flying M
Air, and concerned Wickenburg resident. She is the idiot who put the wrong
number at the bottom right corner of the petition form. She's the one
determined to take the Committee to Stop Irresponsible Development's
petition through the Arizona Court system. She feels she owes it to the
Committee's volunteers -- many of whom took time off from work to get
signatures -- as well as the 336 residents of Wickenburg who want the
opportunity to vote on this issue.

You can contact Maria by e-mail by using the form found at
http://www.marialanger.com/?page_id=20.

Thank You
Thank you for taking the time to read this. We hope you've decided to
help.

Remember, it's our airport in jeopardy today -- but it might be yours
tomorrow.

The thing that really works against you here is the fact that the airport
doesn't have an instrument approach. If you had one, you'd have much more
ammunition against the developer.

I don't think writting to the FAA airports division manager is going to do
any good, and writting to a program manager is going to do even less good.
Even if the FAA were in a position to help, the best chance you would have
is to put on a suit and tie and knock on the door of your local US
representative and senators (the rep should be your first stop). Ask to
speak to their aviation staffer (this is who you really want to talk to, not
the rep or senator themselves). Ask them to draft a letter to the FAA
administrator asking why this is happening. This will light a fire
underneath the airports division manager I can assure you.

Another approach you should take is to get the media involved. Form a local
coalition and call it something like the "save the Wickenburg airport
coalition". The media loves coalitions, community action groups, or
whatever other clever titles you can bestow upon yourselves. Tell the media
the city may be looking at serious federal fines if the developer procedes,
and explain the impact such a project will have on the community as a whole.
If you can get your face on the local news stations, the developer may
decide it's going to be more trouble than its worth and build somewhere
else.

Good luck.