Sunnyside Council Air Show Causes Overlay To Crash

Mayor Turns On “Fasten Seat Belts” Sign For Another Meeting To Reconsider Proposed Airport Overlay

BREAKING NEWS: Operations at Sunnyside Municipal Airport continue at NORMAL pace, despite overlay ordinance failing to pass at Monday’s City Council Meeting.

THERE IS NO AIRPORT TOWER, SO AIRCRAFT LIKE THESE ARE FLOWN IN AT THE SOLE DISCRETION OF THE PILOT, WHO MUST JUDGE IF HE HAS ENOUGH RUNWAY LENGTH TO SAFELY LAND AT THE SUNNYSIDE MUNICIPAL AIRPORT.

Seriously though, at last night’s meeting, the Sunnyside City Council voted down a proposed airport overlay ordinance that would restrict development within 6,000 feet of the airport.  That is a radius of almost 1.4 miles around the airport, potentially effecting hundreds of property owners.

The City Council heard public comments from the Chair of the Sunnyside Planning Commission, who stated that in 1985 there were about 36 aircraft based at Sunnyside’s airport.  Now there are only a handful.  Even under the most optimistic projections the City’s airport consultants made, they do not see those numbers of aircraft returning to Sunnyside during the next 30 years.

Council Member Tom Gehlen said that he did not see any trends that would justify the proposed expansion of the airport runway to 4,000 feet in length.  Because of this, he felt that the current overlay restrictions are adequate to protect the airport.

Interim City Manager Jim Bridges gave an “off the cuff” estimate of about $1 million, as to the cost of extending the runway to the proposed 4,000 feet.

Jamey Ayling, in response to Council Member Mike Farmer’s questions, stated that farm owners annexed into the City would not be able to make improvements in their business operations, without first seeking conditional use permits.  This is because the City’s proposed ordinance is more restrictive than what Yakima County currently uses.

Council Member Don Vlieger questioned why no one had proposed building a runway longer than 4,000 feet.  He also asked why a runway that was 3,999 feet long would not be adequate for aircraft needs.  He is concerned that the proposed document was too “onerous”, and needlessly deprived property owners of their rights.

As an example, he pointed to language on page 7 of the ordinance, which would require land records at the county to carry this language for property owners in the overlay:

“This property is located within the Airport Overlay Zoning District of the City of Sunnyside in which a variety of airport aviation activities occur. Such airport aviation activities will impact the use of your property.”

Property owners outside of the overlay would not have such a disclaimer placed on their property records, thus adversely impacting anyone unlucky enough to be within the boundaries of the proposed ordinance.

Vlieger noted that this information would have to be disclosed to potential buyers, making the sell or development of land more difficult.

Mayor Jim Restucci countered, saying, the airport is a jewel for economic development and transportation.  He added, “I don’t want to be mean, I hate to say this, but, 9/11 changed the rules on through the fence operations at airports, and there is never going to be a time when somebody could fly in and park an airplane near their house.”

Restucci also said that Council needs to take more than it needs right now, so that 20 years from now the airport will not be “boxed” in.

Council Member Vlieger again asked why no one was addressing why a 4,000 foot runway was needed.  Vlieger asked why they could not plan for a 3,999 foot runway instead.

Vlieger pointed to another burdensome restriction on page 15 of the proposed ordinance:

“…no tree shall be planted in any zone created unless a

permit therefor has been applied for and granted.”

He said that if that was not an example of a government being too big for its britches, he did not know what one was!

Council Member Gehlen said that there should be some growth at the airport to show it is getting closer to being economically self-sufficient before planning to make these types of proposed expansions.  Instead of this proposal, he suggested adding instrument landing systems to allow pilots to land and take off in more bad weather situations.

After much debate, the Council voted 5-2 to kill the airport overlay ordinance.  Mayor Restucci and Council Member Pablo Garcia voted for the proposed ordinance.  Gehlen, Vlieger, Paulakis, Farmer, and Hancock voted against it.

The City Council will hold a Special Meeting on Monday, February 1st, 2010, to again consider an airport overlay ordinance.

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