Board asked to 'fill in the blanks' on proposed helicopter ordinance

By Lisa Majors-Duff

At their work session Sept. 20, board members briefly discussed a draft ordinance, which county attorney Raymond Large labeled "a guide for (board members) to consider." The draft includes proposed regulations in two sections - operation location and frequency of flights, with several blanks to be filled in with distance and time requirements.

For example, in the section labeled "Location," the first provision says "no heliports or sight-seeing operation shall be located within (blank) of a residence." Other "location" blanks to be filled in include the distance of a sight-seeing operation from a business, school, day care, hospital, nursing home, medical facility and church.

Four incomplete provisions are included under "Frequency of Flights." They include hours of operation Monday through Friday, hours of operation on Saturdays, hours of operation on Sundays, and the number of flights per hour, per day.

A phase-in provision is also being considered, which would give any sight-seeing operation in business prior to the document's approval a deadline to conform with the regulations. The time frame in section also remains to be filled in.

Commissioners asked their attorney to draft an ordinance regulating sight-seeing helicopter operation after receiving seveal appeals from residents of Qualla. Great Smoky Mountain Helicopters have been operating a sight-seeing operation there for three years. The majority of complaints centered around the frequency of flights and the noise associated with them.

"We are not trying to put a person out of business," one Qualla resident said in 1999. "We just want peace."

It remains to be seen if peace can be achieved without excluding the helicopter business, Large said last week.

"The people in Qualla want it stopped, period," he said. "With this ordinance, we can control it." As commissioners attempted to fill in the ordinance's blanks, one suggested a 2-mile setback requirement from a residence, a provision which Large said might make it impossible for such a business to operate anywhere in Jackson County.

"If you get too far away, what you might be doing is going with the Haywood County ordinance through the back door," he said, referring to that county's recent decision to ban helicopter sight-seeing operations. "If your intent is to get that thing out of here, the Haywood County ordinance would be the easier route to take."

"Is this what we want?" asked Chairman Jay Denton, who admitted he was not in favor of banning helicopter sight-seeing tours. Both Commissioners Roberta Crawford and Franz Whitmire agreed with Denton.

"I'm not for totally banning it," Crawford said. "I'm for relief for Qualla."

Commissioners agreed that since time may not be an element - if tours are scheduled to be completed later this fall - they would each fill in the ordinance's blanks and compare notes at their next meeting, which will be held Thursday, Oct. 4.

Back to Archive: 09/27/01.