In a session reminiscent of Novato's 1970s debate about an airport at Hamilton Field, residents lined up pro and con this week on a plan to expand the county airport at Gnoss Field, with some contending it would trigger a noisy environmental nightmare and others calling it a neighborly way to improve safety.
At issue before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday were environmental reports on plans to extend the 3,300-foot runway at Gnoss Field north of Novato by 1,100 feet. The report contends the $11 million-plus project can proceed without environmental harm.
The project, funded mostly by the Federal Aviation Administration, is aimed at meeting safety regulations and easing take-offs and landings for heavier aircraft.
Jacqueline A. Bonner, a Rush Creek resident, noted residents submitted a petition opposing the project and calling for a number of new studies. The petition, signed by about 90 people, says a 4,400-foot runway as proposed would allow "larger jets to land at higher speeds," generating more noise for nearby homeowners. Instead, petitioners urged a shorter extension to improve safety and curb noise, adding that consultants who dismissed noise concerns used "bad data, unsubstantiated assumptions and faulty logic."
Christopher Gilkerson of Novato said the key question is determining how the interests of corporate jet owners balance with those of "thousands of homeowners," and added, "Do what is best for all the people of Marin and Novato."
But Rich Elb of Bahia, a private pilot, had contrary views, saying safety issues require lengthening the runway, and adding that users of the airport want to be good neighbors. Others indicated that although a new runway would accommodate slightly larger planes, noise could be curbed and flight patterns could be altered. The extension would open the airport to jet aircraft such as the Learjet and Beechjet lines.
Douglas Pomeroy, an FAA environmental specialist, said that no scheduled commercial jet use of the field could be made in any case without approval of the county.
Supervisor Judy Arnold, who last month noted the "proposed runway extension will bring us into compliance (with federal standards) and will also provide greater safety for our pilots," on Tuesday noted residents will have plenty of time to study the plan and make their views known.
"An approval of the EIR is not" approval of the project, she noted. Construction couldn't begin until at least 2013.
After Pomeroy took notes on various issues raised by residents, the supervisors adjourned without further comment. Consultants will update the environmental report, which will be returned for review later this year.
Gnoss Field is home base for 300 aircraft, most of them privately owned, and it hosts about 95,000 take-offs and landings per year. Aviation officials, businesses and pilots have called for an extension of the field's runway to ease stress on planes flying with full cargo and passenger loads. Because heavier aircraft require longer runways, many planes must fly only partially full, particularly during hot weather, officials said.
Environmental reports sponsored by the county and the FAA identified a number of impacts from the project, including increased storm runoff, the loss of 23 acres of wildlife habitat and the filling of 12 acres of wetlands. However, the impacts can be reduced to minor levels and the habitat impact offset by funding off-site conservation efforts, according to the reports.
Supervisor Arnold has said the benefits of the extension would far outweigh the costs.
"Gnoss Field is a treasure in this county for a number of reasons but most importantly for safety," she said. "If we had a major earthquake or a major disaster this airport is the only other major way to get out besides Highway 101."
Similar arguments were sounded in the 1970s, when the late Novato Supervisor Arnold Baptiste headed a county board majority that wanted to take over Hamilton Field. The Pentagon offered to turn over the facility for free if Marin operated an airport there. Novato revolted, replacing Baptiste in 1978 with aviation foe Gail Wilhelm, who joined colleagues Barbara Boxer and Denis Rice to kill the plan amid a flurry of ballot measures.
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