Thu, Feb 04, 2010
Long-Simmering Dispute Over Runways At Jacksonville's Craig
Field
Two FBO's at Craig Field (KCRG) in Jacksonville, FL have filed
suit in federal court hoping to force the city to lengthen at least
one runway at the airport to 5,600 feet, a move that has been
repeatedly blocked by the Jacksonville City Council.
The former military field currently has two runways that are
each 4,000 feet, and the owners of Sky Harbor and Craig Air Center
contend that they do not meet minimum federal safety guidelines.
Those rules say that an airport's main runway needs to be at least
5,000 feet long to meet minimum safety requirements. The
Jacksonville Airport Authority's master plan for the facility has
long called for one runway to be extended to 5,600 feet, but a
vocal group of homeowners has successfully blocked the move each
time it has come before the city council. The homeowners say
extending the runway will allow for larger, noisier jets to use the
airport, and will increase the number of airport operations. They
also say they have been promised for years by city leaders that the
runway will not be lengthened.
The Florida Times-Union reports that both Mayor John Peyton and
the Airport Authority Board favor the extension, but new Airport
Authority Executive Director Steven Grossman said he wants to meet
with businesses and residents in an effort to better understand the
situation.
City Councilman Bill Bishop told the paper he thinks the safety
issue is a "red herring." He contends that the only reason the
FBO's are suing to have the runways lengthened is to allow more and
larger planes to use the runway, which will increase their
business.
The lawsuit seeks to have a federal court throw out the part of
the city's comprehensive plan that limits the runway to 4,000 feet,
saying the federal guidelines supersede the local code.
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