Tuesday, May 22, 2012

FAA pulls plug on homeowner reimbursement plan

DANIA BEACH, Fla. (WSVN) -- An airport expansion plan that would have meant big bucks for homeowners is now grounded. 

 After more than 25 years of battling within the City of Dania Beach, the groundbreaking ceremony for Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport's expansion finally took place Jan. 23.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood attended the long-awaited ceremony, where he officially announced the massive expansion of the south runway at the Broward airport would proceed.

According to a computer simulation, the expanded runway will extend over US 1 and will contain a series of 12 bridges and tunnels. The runway itself will then be elevated to extend its length. LaHood said, "This is a big deal because of the jobs."

However, the Dania Beach city commission is now about to resume the decades-long battle on behalf of the roughly 2,000 homeowners who live near the airport. The Federal Aviation Administration has denied a plan to pay cash to those who would be most affected by the excess noise from the closer runway.

The plan entailed payments of up to 20 percent of a home's value if the homeowner did not sue. Dania Beach Commissioner Anne Castro said, "I think litigation will be happening. It's the only way to preserve legal rights for people, including the city ... There might be a chance we get an injunction to stop the construction until some of the matters are resolved."

"What we asked for was completely, never done any place else in the country," said Kent George, Director of Aviation, "and they said, 'You can't do it. It's not in the EIS -- Environmental Impact Statement -- nor is it in our regulations, nor is it eligible for funding, so consequently, you can't do it.'"

Homeowners expressed anger about the FAA's decision. Homeowner Brenda Chalifour said, "We devalue your property as much as we possibly can, and down the road, when you just can't take it anymore, for whatever reason, we'll buy it for a penny on the dollar."

According to George, no matter what decision the City of Dania Beach makes, the airport expansion plan will proceed.

Read more: http://www.wsvn.com

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