Airport zoning issue still remains concern of county and city

by Amanda Polaski– Staff Writer

A zoning and land usage guideline packet concerning the Rogers City airport was sent from the Michigan Aeronautical Commission (MAC) in April, landing on the desk of city manager Mark Slown. Since the guidelines were received, Slown and members of the Presque Isle County EDC/CDC, including executive director Bill Valentine, have been attempting to make sense of what the outcome could mean for future development of city and county Renaissance Zones located within the Industrial Park adjacent to the airport.

IN MONDAY evening?s Rogers City council meeting, Slown explained that although he has made phone contact with Linn Smith of the MAC, he has not yet been able to set up a teleconference between Smith and the parties involved. He is hoping for such a meeting to be set up in the near future. The city and county have concerns with the guidelines because what was once a 500-foot safety zone from the centerline of the runway is now 1,000-feet. The guidelines state it is not recommended to allow land usage within the safety zone area that calls for a concentration of people either indoors or outdoors. It further recommends prohibiting all residential land uses, allowing only zero to five people per acre.

These land usage recommendations contrast with both the city and county intentions toward development within the Renaissance Zones. Almost all of the county Ren Zones fall within the 1,000-foot safety zone, with small areas of city zones affected, making the business of bringing future development to the area mor

e difficult. It is not only the Renaissance Zones that would come into question with areas such as the football, baseball, and softball playing fields also falling within certain recommended safety zone areas.

?I THINK the original 500-foot safety zone makes more sense than the 1,000-feet now recommended,? said Slown. ?It says to avoid concentrations of people within those areas. We just received a call from someone recently who wants to build a fast food restaurant there ? now, isn?t that a concentration of people?? Slown said under these recommendations, an RV park would be ?unlikely? in the Renaissance Zones.

The Rogers City airport falls under the MAC zoning guidelines as an airport with a runway from 4,000 to 5,999 feet. The RC airport is presently 4,105 feet long and 75 feet wide. As part of a four-year state airport improvement project, the Rogers City airport runway is proposed to extend to 4,425 feet in length, while keeping at 75 feet in width. Also included in the improvement project is a parallel taxiway, which includes the construction of an access road, as well as a fuel farm, fencing, and additional hangar construction. This is a $1.9 million project that is proposed to take place between now 2011, with 80 percent of the cost covered by federal money. Seventeen and a half percent would be covered by the state, and 2.5 percent would be up to the county. According to the Michigan.gov website, all bids for the parallel taxiway were rejected, and the job will be re-bid in May of 2008.