In an airport story this week another news source in Eatonville erroneously reported that a "lawsuit" is "pending" over an "overlay plan" for the airport. This is not so. On March 20, 2006 Steve Pruitt and Steve Van Cleve "petitioned" the Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board (Case 06-03-0016) to review Ordinance 2006-6 written by Town Planning Consultant Mart Kask.
    As reported March 21, 2006 by ENN,  "Eatonville Planning Commissioner, businessman and Chamber of Commerce President, Steve Pruitt, along with citizen Steve Van Cleve,  professional pilot, former council member and former planning commission chairman, have asked for a review of recent town council actions. 
    "The council, with the exception of Bobbi Allison, voted, February 27, 2006 to adopt Ordinance 2006-6.  This  amended the Eatonville Municipal Code by establishing development regulations at and adjacent to the Eatonville Airport - Swanson Field - creating new sections 18.04.185 and .187 of the municipal code, and repealing existing section 18.04.185 and Ordinance 94-06 §2, 1994.
    "Pruitt and Van Cleve are requesting that the Central Puget Sound Growth Management Hearings Board review the ordinance for non-compliance with the Eatonville Comprehensive Plan. (Non-compliance with the plan is the reason given by Allison for voting against the measure.)" 
    The men are challenging the ordinance claiming it does not implement the Comprehensive Plan, protect the airport from incompatible land use and other process issues. According to Van Cleve, "There are several areas in the ordinance which are a problem. Our case is based on a document by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Aviation Division. 
    The WSDOT made it very clear what the problems are and advised the town to correct them. The town did not." Van Cleve added, "Why does this matter? Ordinance 2006-6 is full of loopholes and that is what is allowing Nybo (Jerry Nybo who is developing at the airport) to do what he is proposing." 
    To read the petition for review please see Growth Management Board Petition - The hearing is scheduled for Monday, November 6, the same date Eatonville's Planning Commission may hold a public hearing about development at the airport. However, this hearing may be put off until later in November.

     Excerpts from more letters: October 23, 2006 -  If the city also receives participating state and federal funding for airport improvements, i.e. runways, taxiways, signage, etc., there possibly may be a liability there for the city. Should the residential development continue, the State/FAA may say the airport no longer meets requirements and end their participating funds. ~ Bernard Lockerts, South Dakota.

    September 28 letter from WSDOT to Nick Bond - Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the proposed development Aviation Heights Subdivision located on the south and southeast sides of Swanson Field. We have reviewed the above referenced materials and believe that the proposal will endanger the lives of people on the ground and in the air. ~ Kerri Woehler, Aviation Planner WSDOT. 

     More excerpts: From February 24, 2006 -"We are seriously concerned that the City of Eatonville is not taking the appropriate steps to address incompatible land use proposals and are ignoring federal regulations."
~ Carol A. Key, Supervisor, Washington Section, Seattle Airports District Office, Federal Aviation Administraton.

   February 24, 2006 - "While we fully support the Town's adoption of the comprehensive plan amendments adopted July 2005, we believe that in the proposed code the Town fails to protect some of the most critical areas adjacent to the airport and provide a safe environment for aviation users and the general public." ~  John Shambaugh, Senior Aviation Planner WSDOT.

                                                                                                                                                                          (courtesy photo)

Will Airport Survive or will Development Drive a Stake in its Heart?

     by Dixie A. Walter
     October 22, 2006 

     A cursory Web search regarding closure of private, and municipal airports, reveals deep concerns, across the country about airport closers.  Airport experts in the United States and Washington State, are not unfounded. Now it appears the problem is hitting closer to home. An October 19 News Tribune article titled Spanaway Airport on Final Approach by Eijiro Kawada says the Spanaway Airport may be sold to a developer.
     According to Kawada's report "Tacoma City Manager Eric Anderson said this year the city should either close the Tacoma Narrows Airport because it costs too much to run." Cost appears to be the reason most used for airport closures and/or sales. It seems many municipalities are considering the amount of money which could be made, usually by selling to developers.
     The California Pilots Association (CPA) reports September 21, 2006 the city of Oceanside said the airport costs $455,000 to operate but only brings in $375,000. The council "has refused grants to improve the airport until a study of possible alternative uses for the land is completed." The mayor stated the property is worth $35 million. 
     According to an editor's note: "I find it interesting that the Mayor has assigned a dollar value to the airport land. Could it be the Mayor and anti-airport city council members were already counting the revenue? We have found that when airports are threatened it is always advisable to follow the money to understand the actual motive behind the issue."

Swanson Field Built in 1952...

      Hal Burlingame, longtime airport resident, commercial and recreational pilot, said Swanson Field was built in 1952 by John Van Eaton, Fritz Guske and a few other men who used six D-8 bulldozers in "echelon formation" and built the airport in one day.
     The fifty-four-year-old Swanson Field has been used for air ambulance service - medi-vac - and is the closest air ambulance field to Mount Rainier which has its share of serious accidents annually. 
     After decades of service in the past year the airport has become a hot spot of controversy due to development and, according to experts, incompatible land use. This past winter the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) wrote about the growing problem concerning Swanson Field and developers.  
     Excerpt from AOPA Web site: "The Eatonville Town Council will vote February 27 whether to approve a measure to adopt development regulations for Eatonville-Swanson Airport. AOPA is opposed to the measure that would pave the way for residential encroachment and allow additional penetration of the field's airspace. Airports across the country are under pressure from developers who look at all that green space and see a different kind of green," said AOPA President Phil Boyer. "But AOPA is committed to working with local pilots to protect America's airports from developers and from short-sighted officials who fail to recognize the benefits of a community airport."
      One of the important issues involving the airport is Federal Aviation Regulation (FAR) Part 77 dealing with safety issues, obstructions etc. So far most Eatonville officials have chosen to ignore the experts and continue to allow incompatible land use at the airport. This apparent dismissal of people with expertise causes some people who know the issues to believe the airport will eventually be dead and development will take the entire space.

What the Experts Say...

      In a letter to the town council dated October 12 Colleen Turner, Communications Director for the Washington Pilots Association states, "Incompatible land use around airports is the primary reason why community airports are closing around the nation. Don't let this happen in Eatonville!"
      Bill Dunn, AOPA vice president agrees with Colleen Turner in a letter to Phil Beach, chair of the Eatonville Planning Commission dated October 13, "It is our long-time experience that allowing residential development around and in close proximity to general aviation airports causes the gradual demise of the airport..." AOPA is a national organization with 408,000 members across the country and 11, 737 members in Washington State.
      There are currently five public airports in Pierce County: Swanson Field; American Lake; Pierce County (previously known as Thun Field which came close to being closed at one time); Ranger Creek State; Tacoma Narrows and Spanaway which will perhaps be sold soon.
     A public hearing for Nybo's Aviator Heights plat was scheduled for the October 16 planning commission. The public hearing was postponed until Monday, November 6. Public hearings and other agenda items are subject to changes.
     To read the entire text of the latest letters in support of the airport please see Airport Letters

   Another View of Aviator Heights...   
  
                                                                                                                                                                         (courtesy photo)