"Airport Land Use: More communities sprouting up around smaller airports"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Saturday, June 21, 2008

More communities sprouting up around smaller airports
By Kyle Nagel
The Dayton (OH) Daily News


WEST CARROLLTON - Lynn Gomez' 1,300-square-foot home on Catherine Avenue was
built in 1900. Thirty years later, several more houses popped up on the
street near the Great Miami River before the Moraine Airpark came along.

Gomez' parents bought the house in 1953 when she was 10 years and, she said,
never showed concern about a the nearby airport.

"They probably didn't even think about it," she said.

Gomez, like her neighbors and those with homes near small airports across
the country, has learned to co-exist with the noise and threat of accidents,
however small that threat might be. Those concerns spiked on Tuesday, June
17, when a single-engine Helton Lark 95 crashed and rolled into Gomez'
backyard, startling her and other residents.

Although these wrecks can happen - and have, in 1995, 2000, twice in 2002
and in 2005 - residents said the threat is small and is simply part of life
with planes regularly coming and going.

In the 12 months ending in May 2007, the Moraine Airpark had 87,263
operations, which underlines to airport supporters nationally the relative
rarity of accidents.

"Of course we don't want any accidents, but when they happen they get a lot
of attention," said Kathleen Vasconcelos, a spokesperson for the Aircraft
Owners and Pilots Association. "People have a fear of airplanes falling out
of the sky, but that's not happening very often."

Another issue facing smaller airports is growing nearby communities. As more
construction happens in the undeveloped areas near these airports, things
can become more uncomfortable for both the residents and the pilots.

Marci Wright of the Dayton Wright Brothers Airport in Springboro said the
Federal Aviation Administration requires a certain area around airports be
clear for airport operation. There are 171 public-use airports in Ohio,
according to the FAA.

"We're seeing airports built decades ago in the middle of nowhere facing
more neighbors," Vasconcelos said. "There can be both safety and noise
concerns for the residents and concerns from the pilots. But mostly, I think
we're getting along well."

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