Agenda - Council - 06/06/1990 - Special Joint with Airport Commission

Home

State and federal safety standards must be a major consideration in the planning, design, maintenance~ and operation of air transportation facilities. (Underline added) Safety zoning around airports is also an important means of using land use to protect airports systems, both those on the ground and in the air. Land uses that attract birds may ~e considered potential safety hazards." (Underline added) The City of Ramsey adopted an ~ Airport Safety Zoning Ordinance in 1987 estab- lishing land use safety and height limitation-zoning for Gateway North I~dus- trial Airport. Within the ordinance, specific uses are restricted due to the hazards to airport operations which would be created. Under the ordinance, the proposed landfill would be prohibited. A referendum in April, 1988 initiated a special election which voted down adoption of the ordinance. The validity of this special election is currently under review by the Minnesota Attorney General°s office, with a final decision pending. The current owners of the airport have indicated that, if the Site P landfill is constructed as proposed and FAA funding is not available for development of the airport, there is a high probability the Airport will close in the near future. The current owners of the airport do not have the additional capital available to make improvements. As a result of this situation and an increas- ing tax burden and a lack of facilities to meet current demands of airport users, the owners are seeking to sell the airport. While the City of Ramsey has moved forward in preparing to acquire the airport through the preparation of the Environmental Assessment, they have stated that acquisition will be dependent upon receiving FAA funding for improvements and future development. consequently, FAA funding, which is contingent up the closing of the existing landfill and no further landfill development within 5000 feet of the airport, is essential to the continued operation and Gateway North Industrial Airport. If the Gateway North Industrial Airport is closed, an airport which has been found to be significant by federal, state, and regional agencies will no longer be available for users in the Anoka-Ramsey-Elk River area. Forecasts generated in the Airport Master Plan indicate the airport will experience steady growth in numbers of based aircraft and annual operations with the proposed improvements. Currently, 27 aircraft are based at the airport, which exceeds the 25 based aircraft forecasted for 1990 (see Attachment D - Aviation Forecasts). In addition, the existing flight school, with approximately 75 students and & full-time and 2 part-time employees, would close; the vocation- al school programs currently held at the airport would need to be relocated~ businesses using the airport would be required to find other facilities: approximately 27 based aircraft would be required to find other facilities; and the Fixed Based Operator would close. This information was obtained from the Fixed Base Operator and the Minnesota Department of Transportation Office of Aeronautics. These actions would have some economic impacts on the City of Ramsey due to the loss of jobs and business. -3-