Okaloosa looks to tighten airport rules

A proposed change to Okaloosa County’s land development code would prohibit private or residential airports from operating on the waterfront.

The policy change also would restrict private airports to one of three zoning areas: agricultural, institutional or airport industrial park.

County commissioners held the first of two public hearings on the change Tuesday. The second hearing is scheduled for July 16 in Fort Walton Beach.

Commissioners asked the county staff to review regulations governing aircraft-related businesses and private airports after helicopter sightseeing businesses and aircraft congestion in general increased in the past two years.

“The only way that the county can regulate anything to do with airplanes is through zoning,” said Terry Jernigan, the county’s planning and zoning manager. “The regulation of airplanes once they leave the ground is totally pre-empted to the federal government.”

The growth management department used information from a study conducted by RS&H, the county’s airport consultant, to help craft the proposed policy change.

The study concluded that “the airspace that lies above Okaloosa County is among the busiest and most complex in the country,” the study said.

A major concern cited in the RS&H study was that “private takeoff and landing facilities” could create operational conflicts. RS&H recommended the county “use existing regulatory framework to establish sitting standards for private aviation facilities.”

“This went beyond sightseeing helicopters and into aviation and airplane congestion in general,” Jernigan said.

The main purpose behind the proposed change is to make local airspace safer, he said.

“It’s kind of a reasonable assumption that aircraft should operate from airports,” he said. “If you’re going to have a private airport, then there should be certain parameters … that you’re not going to be creating a lot of noise and nuisance for the people that are around you.”

Under the policy change, all existing private airports would be grandfathered in. In addition, crop dusters and government aircraft, including medical and law enforcement helicopters, would be exempt.

“If a new private airport comes in or if there’s an existing one that wants to relocate, the new regulations would apply,” Jernigan said.

Justin Johnson, who operates Timberview Helicopters from various waterfront locations, including Crab Island and Destin Harbor, doesn’t agree with the proposal.

“I don’t see how they can take jurisdictional control over the water,” Johnson said. “Zoning is for land development.”

He said he operates his business from a barge that floats and changes location, and expects to be grandfathered in.

But Jernigan said a business would have to remain at the location it’s in on the day the new policy is enacted to be grandfathered in.

Johnson said he operates a safe business and feels like his helicopter tours are being singled out.

“They’re obviously targeting our company,” he said. “We’ve already been approved and looked at by the all the agencies … the FAA, the Coast Guard.”

Source:  http://www.nwfdailynews.com