• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Franklin County Airport Plan Stalls on Runway

Posted on: Thursday, 23 February 2006, 03:03 CST

By David Harrison david.harrison@roanoke.com 981-3349

Franklin County's airport plan is off the table. At least for now.

In a surprise move, the board of supervisors voted 4-3 Tuesday to drop the controversial plan to build a general aviation airport in the Sontag area.

"It's called 'stick a fork in it' -- it's dead," said Gills Creek Supervisor Russ Johnson, who made the motion to abandon the project. He was joined by supervisors Leland Mitchell, Charles Poindexter and David Hurt in killing the project.

The plan had torn residents apart ever since late 2004 when 18 landowners in the Sontag area received letters informing them that Franklin County was considering taking some of their property through eminent domain to build an airport on 330 acres.

The airport has been discussed for decades as a possible economic development booster for Franklin County. The latest proposal for a general aviation airport -- reserved for private and corporate planes -- dates from 2000.

But as opposition to the latest plan mounted, some supervisors voiced the concern that they had not been sold on the airport's economic impact.

"I've become more and more skeptical of the economic benefit of the general aviation airport," said Hurt, Boone District supervisor.

Mitchell, the Snow Creek supervisor whose district includes the Sontag area, first made a motion Tuesday to take the Sontag site out of consideration but to continue looking for a suitable location elsewhere.

But Johnson amended Mitchell's motion to rule out an airport altogether in the county. Mitchell supported Johnson's motion, which passed.

The decision delighted Sontag residents, many of whom came to the meeting.

"When you have someone coming to take your land, prove to me that my neighbor is going to benefit from it. They haven't proved that to this county," said Jean Anderson, whose family owns 32 acres in Sontag, about half of which was threatened by eminent domain.

The decision also represents an important political victory for Mitchell, a first-term supervisor who made opposition to the airport the centerpiece of his campaign last fall.

H.D. Woody III, an airport supporter with the Franklin Aviation Network, chalked up the vote to a not-in-my-back-yard sentiment.

"That's exactly what Mitchell is all about: not in my back yard," he said. "The shame about today is this: They have a handful of people down there who are speaking for the entire group," he added, referring to the Sontag landowners.

Before Tuesday's vote put an end to the planning process, the board was poised to vote on launching a federally mandated environmental impact study on the Sontag site, one of the first of many steps to get an airport built.

To prepare for that decision, supervisors held an information session Feb. 8 at the Center for Applied Technology and Career Exploration to hear from a consultant and to allow citizens to comment.

Several supervisors said the meeting did not appease their fears that the economic benefits of an airport had been overstated. For instance, Hurt noted that the consultant's report found that most of the jobs directly created by the airport would pay about $10 an hour.

"I think we need to be setting our sights higher than that," he said. "Economic development has to be a means to an end. The end is not to generate more money. It's to bring a better life to our citizens."

But Poindexter, Union Hall District supervisor, noted that an airport may encourage new higher-paying businesses to move into the county.

Supervisors also said they were sympathetic to landowners' opposition to taking land by eminent domain.

Board Chairman Wayne Angell suggested amending the motion to rule out taking land by eminent domain. Instead, he said, he'd like to see the county build an airport somewhere where the board can find willing sellers.

A watertight case for economic development has to be made for the board to justify taking private land, Angell said.

Although many in Franklin County thought the possible economic benefits did not justify eminent domain, Angell added that he wanted the county to continue discussing a general aviation airport.

Angell joined supervisors Hubert Quinn (Blue Ridge) and Charles Wagner (Rocky Mount) in opposing the move to kill the airport plan.

"I think it should be left open and ongoing," he said. "Maybe somebody can make that case in the future."

But other supervisors said they did not expect the airport proposal to be revived.

"The people in the Sontag community will rest peacefully tonight," Mitchell said after the vote.

To which Anderson replied, "You have no idea."

Source: Roanoke Times & World News

More News in this Category