Supervisors approve studies for New Garden Flying Field (N57) Toughkenamon, Pennsylvania

The ongoing expansion plans at the New Garden Flying Field continued with the approval of two service agreements on Monday night.

New Garden Supervisors voted 4-1 on an agreement with township engineers Pennoni Associates to conduct a relocation survey of the airport’s development zone.

Township solicitor Neil Land explained the survey needs to be completed before the township can relocate a communications cable that connects to the cell tower near Newark Road.

The current location of the cable, Land said, interferes with the township’s plans to develop the airport as a business hub, with the field in question the center of the designated Airport Development Zone. The cable will likely be relocated to run parallel to Newark Road, Land said.

Land said the township will share the $58,000 relocation cost with SBA, the private company that owns the cell tower.

Land also said no one knows why the cable is in its current location.

“Right now it is in one of the areas that is part of the airport’s plan designated for saleable lots,” Land said.

The approved agreement also establishes an easement area that enables the township to relocate the cable, according to Land.

Although supervisor Warren Reynolds did not give a reason for voting against approval of the study, he did ask about the status of the relocation, which he said he was initially told would interfere with the adjacent woods.

Airport manager John Martin said that the cable would instead run along the treeline and not through the woods.

“That’s changed in that last several months,” Martin said. “It’s now off the south edge of the drive. Originally, we talked about taking it through the trees.”

He also said any trees removed would have a replacement planted in another location, as per the township’s tree conservation ordinance.

While the approval means plans at the flying field are moving ahead, the big news is completion of the airport’s newly extended taxiway, Martin said.

Three years and several grants in the making, Martin said that the taxiway was completed earlier this week with freshly painted sight lines.

“It’s going to be a tremendous safety improvement for us,” Martin said.

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