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Commissioners protect airport airspace
By Lynn Hotaling
After making sure that no financial commitment was required, local officials Tuesday (March 15) unanimously approved an ordinance aimed at protecting the airspace above the Jackson County Airport.
Such an ordinance is one of the steps required before the county’s airport authority can seek financial assistance from the N.C. Department of Transportation for improvements to the 26-year-old landing field located atop Berry Ridge near Cullowhee, county planner Linda Thomas told commissioners during the public hearing that preceded the board’s regular third-Tuesday meeting.
“The only purpose of this ordinance is to protect airspace to enable safe takeoff and landing of planes,” Thomas said.
According to Thomas, the new ordinance, which will prohibit structures taller than 150 feet, will not inhibit development in the area surrounding the airport; the only potential development that could be impacted by the new rule would be a cell tower that rises more than 150 feet above the airstrip.
No one spoke during the public hearing except county officials.
Commissioner Joe Cowan asked about the frequency of airport use, saying he’d heard complaints over the years that it’s only used by a few private planes.
County Manager Ken Westmoreland responded that use of the airstrip is a “chicken-and-egg kind of thing.”
“(The airport) would be used more if facilities were improved,” he said. Specifically, Westmoreland indicated that the airport’s inability to provide for night landings is a limiting factor and said he’s heard that a number of people who base airplanes in Macon County would prefer to have them at the local airport if it were upgraded.
Thomas and Westmoreland indicated there has been corporate interest in the airport from Harrah’s and Western Carolina University.
Commissioner Brian McMahan said he was satisfied the Airport Hazard Zoning Ordinance would not adversely affect the surrounding area but sought reassurance that the ordinance was only a first step to allow the airport authority to apply for state funding.
“I’ve been against zoning and regulating property use,” he said. “And I’m not in favor of extending the runway.”
Thomas reiterated that the amendment is only intended to protect the airspace and not for extending the runway or making any improvements.
Also Tuesday:
– Commissioners approved a site master plan for the 30-acre county-owned tract off N.C. 116 (Webster Road).
A new Department of Social Services building is under construction facing Webster Road across from N.C. Department of Transportation offices. The plan locates additional buildings planned to house other agencies on the site. Projected to move to the complex are the Employment Security Commission, Golden Age Center, the Jackson County Community Mission Center, the Driver’s License Office, Highway Patrol and Jackson Transit. Mountain Projects also plans to locate senior housing there.
The next step in developing the site will be to design roads and develop a cost estimate, said architect Grant Tharp. Once the cost estimate is available, county officials and architects will meet with DOT officials to determine whether DOT can help with road construction requirements, Tharp said.
Commissioners had expected to select a name for the governmental complex Tuesday but postponed action until they receive recommendations from the county planning board.
– Commissioners appointed Cullowhee Postmaster Ron Story, Tuckasegee Postmaster Malissa Gibson, County Fire Marshal Todd Dillard and Commissioners McMahan and Roberta Crawford to the county’s addressing and road-naming board.
– Mickey Henson and Gary Buchanan are the final two members named to the Sediment Control Appeals Board. Phil Ward, Phil Fowler and Boyce McCall were appointed last week.
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