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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Runway Plan On Standby Zoning Problems Could Delay Addition To Sandpoint Strip

A plan to add 900 feet of runway and land larger planes at the Sandpoint Airport has turned into a major flap for Bonner County commissioners.

The county, which operates the airport, landed a $630,000 federal grant for the project and wants to start construction next month.

But more than 50 complaints about the expansion prompted the city of Sandpoint to review the runway addition. It discovered that the airport, which is inside the city limits and near a residential neighborhood, never was zoned as a permitted use.

Now the city says the county must get a permit for the construction, have the property zoned and hold a public hearing.

“Until this issue surfaced, the city was unfortunately unaware the airport was not listed as a permitted use in the city limits,” Mayor David Sawyer said. “It was an oversight, but one we now have to correct.”

The problem goes back to 1988, when the city annexed the airport property.

“It just sat there and no one took a second look at it,” Sawyer said. “Now we have to make it comply with our land use codes.”

County officials aren’t happy about having to go through the process, which won’t begin until August. They fear a public hearing could delay or derail the project and jeopardize their grant money.

“Although the zoning issue isn’t taken care of, we would still like to go ahead with construction,” Commissioner Dale Van Stone said. “We will make it right, but the city has kind of left us hanging.”

The city, county, airport commission and representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration plan to meet next month to try to hash out a solution.

Van Stone said a group of residents have raised a ruckus about the expansion. They sent out an anonymous flier saying more planes, as large as a Boeing 737, would create noise pollution and increase the danger of a crash in a residential area.

But city and county officials said the flier is full of misinformation and large passenger airplanes will not be landing in Sandpoint.

Van Stone said the runway expansion has been talked about for 10 years, It will allow safer operation of the airport and provide better access for medical and forest firefighting aircraft. Some local businesses also rely on the airport for deliveries from United Parcel Service and other air shipping companies.

“It’s a vital part of the transportation system in the county and we need more runway,” Van Stone said. “And if we wait too long, our grant money may not be available to do this.”

Jim Blake, a longtime critic of airport operations, said he isn’t against the expansion, he just wants the public to have a chance to comment on it.

“The public has not been informed and I think this would be a concern to people who live nearby,” Blake said.

Other residents have griped about their tax dollars going to subsidize the airport, which is used primarily by private individuals and businesses.

The past three years the county has budgeted about $36,000 to run the airport. By leasing land, space for hangars and selling fuel, commissioners say they are working toward making the airport self-sufficient.

But in the past two years the airport has fallen short of that goal. Without tax dollars, the airport would have posted losses of between $15,000 and $18,000 the past two years.

, DataTimes