County to proceed with efforts to regulate sight-seeing helicopters

By Lisa Majors-Duff

That was the advice attorney Raymond Large gave his clients - the Jackson County Board of Commissioners - last Thursday (Feb. 7) when they asked how they might proceed with efforts to regulate a sight-seeing helicopter company near Cherokee.

Large made the statement after outlining for board members the results of a Jan. 10 meeting between county officials and Cherokee Helicopters manager Jim Garst and Garst's attorney, Ben Bridgers of Sylva. The meeting was called, Large said, to discuss voluntary concessions Garst was willing to make to illustrate the company's willingness to work with county leaders to solve some of the issues of concern within the community.

Commissioners first attempted to regulate sight-seeing helicopter businesses in November with an ordinance written by county Manager Ken Westmoreland, which called for the helicopter to move its base of operations from Qualla to the county airport in Cullowhee.

The ordinance also called for such businesses to file applications with the county describing how they would address nine areas of concern, including the "general health, safety and welfare" of county residents, the "peace and dignity of the county," "impact upon public institutions" and the "frequency, time of occurrence, altitude, routes and other attributes of flight."

Garst was cited for violating the ordinance four days after it was adopted, but District Court Judge Steve Bryant dismissed the charges against him, declaring the ordinance unconstitutional.

"We can take another run at it," Large told the board when they asked about drafting new regulations. "But it's a lot easier to regulate (a business) before it is there. They are already there."

"What about (Garst's) concessions?" Chairman Jay Denton asked the board. "Do we like them?"

"I would much rather see an ordinance," Commissioner Roberta Crawford responded. "Even if it doesn't protect us from this helicopter, it would another one."

The concessions Garst is willing to make, as stated in Bridgers's letter, include the elimination of shorter flights and the extension of routes so take-offs and landings are less frequent; alternate flight routes to allow for one-way traffic for take-offs and landings; varied flight routes so the aircraft does not travel the same route all day; limiting take-offs to business rather than residential area; and an increase of altitude for flights.

Also, Garst agreed not to schedule night flights and to close operations completely from January until March. In addition, he replaced the helicopter in Cherokee with a smaller craft, which he says makes less noise than the previous one.

The letter also indicated that some of the community complaints against the helicopter business could have resulted after the Jackson County Sheriff's Department hired the company to assist with drug eradications in the area.

"Those flights were indeed low, but they were not part of the regular tourist flights that have been discussed with county officials," Bridgers wrote. "The standards for such law enforcement flights are not the same as those operating procedures and standards we have addressed above."

Bridgers went on to point out that although company officials lost more than $90,000 during their legal fight against the county's ordinance, which was eventually ruled unconstitutional, they have not decided to seek reimbursement for those funds.

"That's always an option," Garst told The Herald Monday, "but it's not one we want to pursue. We are still trying to work it out peacefully in the community and with the county commission."

Commissioner Stacy Buchanan presented a possible alternate plan for penalizing the helicopter company if it is found to "fly at such a low level as to disturb the public peace or the rights of private persons in the enjoyment of their homes." Labeled "dangerous flying" in a 1929 N.C. General Statute, such action by an airman could be classified as a Class I misdemeanor, Buchanan pointed out.

"If we can enforce this, then maybe the sheriff should be made aware of it," Large said of the statute. "But if (the pilot) is flying within federal guidelines, I don't think this statute will do anything."

According to Garst, who is a licensed helicopter pilot, Federal Aviation Administration guidelines call for regular flight to be 500 feet above the ground. His pilots, he said, are instructed to fly four times that altitude, or 2,000 feet, above the ground, with the exception of take-offs and landings.

Before going into closed session to further discuss the legal ramifications of attempting to regulate Cherokee Helicopters, board members instructed Large to contact state Attorney General Roy Cooper's office for an opinion on enforcing the 1929 law or any other regulation options available to the county.

Back to Archive: 02/14/02.