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i Chapter 6. SITE SELECTION 43. General. The site selection process begins after a community has determined that it is feasible to plan for a new airport. This feasibility will have been established through the studies prescribed in Chapters 1 through 5 of this advisory circular, that is to say: a. Inventory will have been taken of existing airport facilities serving the community. b. Forecasts of aviation demand on the commu- nity will have been developed. c. Demand/capacity analysis will have deter- mined that existing facilities will not meet that demand or that it is not desirable or feasible to expand existing facilities to meet the demand. d. General requirements for a new airport facility such as number and lengths of runways, number of gates, size of aprons, square footage of terminals, and overall land area will have been established by demand/capacity analysis. e. Environmental considerations will -have been studied. f. Preliminary estimates of the economic feasi- bility of building a new airport will have been es- tablished. Thus, the airport planner will have his mandate to study and recommend sites for the community's new airport. Site selection studies should evaluate air- space, environmental factors, community growth, air- port access, availability of utilities, land costs, and site development costs and should recommend and give preferential ratings to possible sites. The results of the site selection study should be presented in a positive and persuasive fashion since the actual selection will most likely be decided in the political arena. This is particularly true of airports which will serve large urban areas where the citizenry is very sensitive to environmental and socio-economic factors. The study should culminate in the recom- mendation of a specific site. 44. Study Goals and Purpose. The goal of the site selection effort should be the selection of a site of adequate size and suitable location to accommo- date the residents and commerce of the area which will be served by the airport. The primary purpose of the study should be to evaluate the feasibility of possible locations through the forecast period from environmental, geographic, economic, and engineering standpoints. 45. Coordination. The site selection study should be thoroughly integrated with current local and regional comprehensive plans. During the course of study, close liaison should be maintained with Federal, State, regional, and metropolitan planning agencies having jurisdiction within the area to be served by the airport and with the airlines and other aviation interests operating in that area. The site selection team should take full advantage of data from recent studies which have been developed by these organiza- tions. The contents of the site selection study should be treatedconfidentially throughout the study effort because of the impact of site considerations on land costs and community reaction. Public release of study information should not be made prematurely or without express permission of the sponsor. 46. Responsibility. The initial investigation of airport sites is the responsibility of the airport sponsor. Preliminary recommendations should be presented to the Federal Aviation Administration for review. After review, the FAA will confer with the sponsor regarding the preliminary recommendations and will assist the sponsor in evaluating the most desirable sites, if so requested. In some instances, this evalua. tion will result in a recommendation to the sponsor to study additional sites. When the sponsor has made a final recommendation, or recommendations, the FAA will state in writing its position on the proposed site selection. Grants for phases of an airport master plan which follow site selection will not be made until an airport site has been approved by the FAA. a. Airspace Review. In its review of proposed airport sites, the FAA will evaluate them from an airspace standpoint. Federal Aviation Regulations Part 157, Notice of Construction, Alteration, Activa- tion and Deactivation of Airports, amended June 27, 1970 requires proponents of civil or joint use (civil/ 27 429-240 0 - 71 - 5