"Paine Field issues come into focus"

Thursday, October 19, 2006

Airport issues come into focus
An expert tells a Paine Field panel that an airline can't be stopped from
moving in, but officials could take steps to discourage it.
By Bill Sheets
The Snohomish County (WA) Herald

 
EVERETT - A Denver attorney specializing in airport law painted a somewhat
brighter picture Wednesday for those hoping to prevent regularly scheduled
passenger service at Paine Field than he did in a recent report on the
issue.

Still, there are no guarantees, said Peter Kirsch, a partner in the firm
Kaplan Kirsch Rockwell. Kirsch addressed a panel charged with updating an
agreement guiding use of the Snohomish County-run airport.

Airports can't be forced to spend tax money on terminals, security or other
means of support for airlines, Kirsch said.

"Physical constraints are more realistic than the legal constraints," Kirsch
said.

Federal laws on airport use, he said, are "complex, onerous, time-consuming
and wonderful for lawyers."

Paine Field does have the room for passenger service, he said. If an airline
or airlines were to come to the county and offer to pay for a terminal,
there's nothing that would stop them from doing so, he said after talking
with the panel.

But in today's depressed air travel market, such a scenario is unlikely, he
said.

"It's not particularly realistic in 2006, but times change," Kirsch said.
"That didn't used to be uncommon, but now it is very uncommon."

A terminal isn't necessary for the type of air service most likely to come
to Paine Field, he said. "It's not 747s to Japan, it's Horizon (Air) to
Portland."

An airline could lease an acre of airport property and put a triple-wide
trailer on it, he said.

"Is a terminal essential? No. Is a terminal very useful? Yes. Would someone
come in to operate without a terminal? Maybe yes," Kirsch said.

But most airlines don't operate without a terminal, he said.

On the flip side, if the county were to choose to encourage passenger
flights, building a terminal and offering breaks on landing fees would help.
Kirsch said. Again, no guarantee.

"There are some airports with big terminals and no service," he said.

While no proposal to add passenger flights to Paine Field is on the table,
some people in the business community have promoted the idea as an economic
development tool.

The Private Enterprise Coalition of Snohomish County, a county business
group, has come out in favor of limited passenger service at Paine Field.
Kirsch's report put the group in a bit of a bind, group president Tom Hoban
said. Hoban is a member of the Paine Field review panel.

Kirsch said that once service is started at an airport, the airport can't
legally pick and choose among carriers. Hoban's group issued a position
paper last week supporting regional service but not national or
international flights.

"It occurred to me our (group's) position conflicts with law, because we
can't limit it," Hoban said. He said the group would go back and revise its
position.

Still, "I'm encouraged," Hoban said after Kirsch's talk. "I believe there
are some ways to have some level of control through policies."

Limiting terminal size could have an effect, Kirsch said.

Opponents to passenger service, who say it would have a detrimental effect
on surrounding communities, also found encouragement in Kirsch's summary.

"I think there are tools we can use," Edmonds Mayor Gary Haakenson said,
such as the physical limitations that would not run afoul of federal law.

Kirsch said cities bordering airports often pass land-use laws aimed at
discouraging airport growth, such as regulations prohibiting hotels in the
area.

While controversial, "it happens all the time," he said.

An airport can try to restrict flights based on the law, but it has to have
very specific, justifiable reasons for doing so, Kirsch said. He likened it
to "threading the needle."

In fact, no airport has even tried this approach since 1990, when stricter
laws went into effect, Kirsch said.

In another approach, an airport could refuse to obtain a certificate that
allows it to accommodate passenger flights. The federal government has said
it can require an airport to obtain that certificate if an airline requests
it. Kirsch said he isn't so sure.

"When a lawyer can't answer a question, they say, 'That's an interesting
question,' " Kirsch said. "This falls into that category."

Regarding the 1979 document that discourages passenger flights at Paine
Field, Kirsch said it's worth updating to make it clearer and to state a
position for the public. But it's not legally binding, he said.

"It's a policy document. It's not a regulatory document," he said.

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