CAA: GA News, "Contested Airport Expansion May Force Some Detroit-Area Residents to Move"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Monday, August 12, 2002

Contested Airport Expansion May Force Some Detroit-Area Residents to
Move
The Detroit (MI) Free Press


In 1960, Ed and Judith Hubbel bought an 1878 farmhouse on 25 acres just
west of Howell. The house, which features Italianate architecture, was
surrounded by picturesque barns, a corn crib and grainery. Out front,
75-foot, 140-year-old sugar maples provided a canopy of shade.

According to a 1995 report that earned the house and property state and
national historic designations, the place was"once part of a 160-acre
working farm. The setting is pastoral and creates a sense of gentle
tranquillity and permanence. . . ."

The only thing that marred the site, the report stated, was the county
airport to the southwest.

But back then, the county airport was little more than a sod landing
strip, and Livingston County was part of a place many Detroiters
called"up north."The Hubbels settled into their historic home, raised
two sons and planned to ride out their retirement in sugar-maple shade.

While the area still is markedly rural, it sits on the western edge of
some of the county's fastest-growing areas, not far from an outlet mall
off I-96.

About half of the Hubbels' land has been condemned by the Livingston
County Board of Commissioners for airport expansion. The other half,
which includes the house, will be rendered unlivable, the Hubbels
contend, by runways a few hundred feet away and airplanes flying over
their front door.

"Who wants to live next to a jet runway?"Ed Hubbel, 70, said last week.

"We don't want to leave,"added Judith Hubbel, 69,"but we don't want the
airport on top of us."

The Hubbels have filed a lawsuit against the county board, charging
these conditions amount to an illegal taking of their house and
remaining land. Several neighbors also have sued, claiming the county
has condemned their land unnecessarily or has offered to buy it for
amounts well below market value.

The expansion will require the relocation of 10 residences and affect 22
other properties, according to an environmental assessment of two years
ago. The assessment deemed the airport overall will have"no significant
impact"on the surrounding area.

Airport Manager Mark Johnson and county Board of Commissioners Chairman
David Domas both say planners went out of their way to make sure the
Hubbels' house was spared.

Ed Hubbel"made it clear all along he wanted his home protected,"Domas
said last week."We were very conscious that those trees were of value to
him and his family. We made sure there was as little intrusion on those
trees and house and barn as possible."

The airport is small compared to those in Pontiac, Flint and Lansing. It
has expanded little by little over the years and now sports a 4,300-foot
paved runway, a taxiway, hangars, a small terminal and support
facilities. It is used by small freight operators, hobbyists and flight
instructors.

None of that seemed intolerable to the Hubbels or their neighbors. But
an expansion plan approved amid substantial controversy in 1997 by the
commissioners spurred the lawsuits and, for the Hubbels, a much-altered
retirement plan.

The home and land next door, owned by their son Ed Jr., was condemned by
the county. The family is moving and the grandchildren no longer will be
able to saunter over to their grandparents' house for visits.

Now, the Hubbels may feel forced to move, too.

What makes this especially frustrating, Ed Hubbel said, is that many
people in the area see no reason for the expansion. People packed
hearings on and off for years when the commission suggested enlarging
the airport. The commission turned down a plan in 1994 due in part to
the opposition.

In Howell Township, where the airport is located, the local board of
trustees has passed resolutions against the expansion.

The expansion approved in 1997 was significantly smaller in scale than
the 1994 plan. The 5-year plan calls for a new runway, taxiway,
terminal, hangar development area and parking. Work is to begin next
year.

The strongest opposition comes from residents of Howell Township, Domas
said, but all knew when they moved in the airport was in their
backyards.

But Hubbel and other opponents have said all along there has been no
public call for the expansion beyond a few business owners and hobby
pilots, who can use the airport as it is.

Pilots generally support the expansion.

"It would mean the airport would be safer,"said Mike Dellenir, 19, of
Brighton. The longer runway and instrument-aided approach, he
said,"would make it easier to use."

Domas, who last week won the Republican primary for a state House seat,
said the airport is an asset.

"We're responsible to protect and maintain all of our assets. We have to
keep"the airport"current with the times. . . . We need certain things
there that were neither needed nor available 25 years ago."

Updated navigational equipment, for example, will ensure safer landings
and provide the county's only all-weather airport, Domas said.
Supporters also say the airport brings in about $25 million to the
community. State-conducted studies estimate takeoff and landing counts
at 60,000 to 70,000 a year.

Opponents question those estimates. Flight school operations, which have
frequent takeoffs and landings, inflate figures, they say. Domas, a
licensed pilot, said economic benefit figures are difficult, but
maintains area businesses rely increasingly on air freight.

The airport is surrounded by five roads and several businesses. No
property belonging to businesses is being taken for the expansion.

Critics also point to the expansion's estimated cost, which has
increased from $6 million in 1997 to $19 million now. County taxpayers
would have to pay for about $2.2 million. The remainder would come from
the Federal Aviation Administration.

Meanwhile, appraisals of the farm and residential properties involved
vary widely. The Hubbels, for example, were offered $6,000 an acre for
13.5 of their acres. The appraiser Ed Hubbel hired put the value at
$37,500 an acre.

The Hubbels are resigned to certain realities: that the county has the
power to condemn their property and that, after the new runway is built
in 2004, they will have to decide just how much noise they can take.


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