Plan Calls For 15 Percent Of Romulus Residents To Move

Want to start the mother of all NIMBY battles? Tell a small suburb you want to displace 15 percent of the town's residents to expand the metro area's major airport.

That's the proposal in Romulus, MI... where USA Today reports Detroit Metropolitan Airport officials want to build a new 10,000 foot runway, and want 3,500 people to give up their homes to do it.

The board says its 20-year growth plan projects this year's 36 million passengers through the airport will grow to 60 million by 2027, and the runway is needed. In addition to the new runway, the plan calls for expansion of the existing McNamara and North terminals, and the building of a passenger monorail.

Not surprisingly, Romulus officials aren't keen on the idea.

"How many hits can we continue to absorb on behalf of the region and the airport? ... We don't have a choice, we have to get vocal," Romulus economic development director Tim Keyes told The Detroit News.

The Detroit area currently has an oversupply of unsold homes suppressing real estate prices. But it's probably about to experience a sudden shortage of posterboard.

FMI: www.metroairport.com, www.romulusgov.com/