Northwest Arkansas Airport board growing concerned about development nearby

Officials hoping to limit building

NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK The terminal and front entrance is visible Friday, June 22, 2018, at the Northwest Arkansas Regioinal Airport in Highfill. The 20-year-old terminal building at the Northwest Arkansas Regioinal Airport will be getting a makeover in the next couple of years. Board members on Wednesday had in an informal input session with engineers and architects to give them a general idea of what they'd like the terminal to look like after the planned renovation and expansion. The work should result in a new front door for the terminal including a new building across the loop drive from the main terminal and a second-floor bridge into what is now the front of the terminal.
NWA Democrat-Gazette/DAVID GOTTSCHALK The terminal and front entrance is visible Friday, June 22, 2018, at the Northwest Arkansas Regioinal Airport in Highfill. The 20-year-old terminal building at the Northwest Arkansas Regioinal Airport will be getting a makeover in the next couple of years. Board members on Wednesday had in an informal input session with engineers and architects to give them a general idea of what they'd like the terminal to look like after the planned renovation and expansion. The work should result in a new front door for the terminal including a new building across the loop drive from the main terminal and a second-floor bridge into what is now the front of the terminal.

HIGHFILL -- Northwest Arkansas National Airport officials want to get more aggressive about discouraging the ever-encroaching development around the airport, directors said Wednesday.

The discussions came up during talks about buying land, including a piece needed for a future second runway, and land use planning on and around the airport.

"There is activity all around us and the time is kind of getting limited," said Aaron Burkes, CEO at Northwest National. "It's something we won't need for probably 20 years, maybe 25, but it's the kind of thing, even if we don't need it until then, if we don't act now or in the very near future, we won't have the option of doing a second runway."

Eight properties within about a mile of the airport have sold in the past year, and several are going through the rezoning and residential development process, Burkes said.

"It's absolutely going to be surrounding us," Burkes said. "In a matter of three to five years, there probably will not be a lot of pastures left out here."

Take our poll on XNA’s expansion plans at: nwaonline.com/916xnapoll/.

Other properties are in the process of being sold or rezoned, all at development prices for single- or multi-family housing, Burkes said. Most are north of the airport in either Highfill or Centerton, but development in Bentonville is also creeping closer.

"It is a substantial amount of development that is happening around the airport," Burkes said. "A lot of residential density is coming around the airport, again, not a compatible use for us. We know it's going to lead to problems for us down the road."

One development was recently approved that would put 126 duplexes not far off the end of the runway, where planes will be passing a couple hundred feet above them, Burkes said.

"I guess I don't understand to what extent we're supposed to protect idiots from buying land right at the end of a runway and complaining about noise," said Tom Lundstrum, a board member representing Washington County.

Burkes said his staff is spending a lot of time attending planning commission and city council meetings to oppose rezoning requests in an effort to assure there's compatible development and land uses near the airport. They're also working with cities on their land use plans.

The airport is required to do those things in order to continue getting FAA grants, Burkes said. But the other side of the coin is landowners don't like having their land uses restricted and, typically, planning commissions and city councils are going along with them, approving the rezonings from agricultural or industrial uses to residential.

"Again, we hate to see that because we know it's going to lead to problems for us down the road with complaints and lawsuits," Burkes said. "There's going to be a substantial amount of noise associated with airplanes flying over these properties."

Kelly Johnson said the airport had one lawsuit a few years ago, over noise disturbing a laying hen operation about 3 miles from the airport. That case took two years and $347,000 to defend.

Directors urged Burkes and his staff to look at every option available to get the message out about compatibility and to look at zoning or avigation easements for property around the airport.

"I think we need to be dealing with Centerton, Bentonville, Highfill, Regional Planning and trying to get zoning," said Mike Johnson, who represents Fayetteville on the board. "First and foremost it's height so you don't build a multi-story building in those runway approaches."

Johnson said commercial uses such gas stations, grocery stores, even strip malls, would be compatible with the airport, as opposed to residential.

An avigation easement follows the property and provides insurance against someone buying it in the future then turning around and suing the airport for noise issues, Burkes said.

Jonathan Barnett, who represents Benton County on the board, said staff should take every opportunity to share the airport authority's concerns to anybody who will listen.

"As long as we're out there telling everybody ... I would think that would limit some of our exposure in the future," Barnett said.

Meade & Hunt, airport consultants, will be looking at off-airport land uses and making recommendations in the future for both the airport and the surrounding cities.

Ryk Dunkelberg, with Meade & Hunt, said it's a complicated issue but the general legal premise is airports are liable for the noise they make even if the landowner should have known. But Dunkelberg said putting cities on notice and being on record as opposing incompatible land uses could be helpful in any potential legal defense.

Johnson urged forming a group with Regional Planing, Benton County government and the various surrounding cities to talk about what's going on with the airport and air concerns on a regular basis, rather than meeting with each entity separately.

Ron Wood can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWARDW.

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Avigation easement

An easement that transfers certain property rights from a property owner to an airport owner including right of overflight in the airspace above or in the vicinity of a particular property. It also includes the right to create such noise or other effects as may result from the lawful operation of aircraft in such airspace and the right to remove any obstructions to such overflight. Hence, an avigation easement permits aircraft approaching an airport to fly at low elevations above private property.

Source: uslegal.com

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