[JYO] Leesburg is not the only local airport with "build near the airport" problems

Mar 6, 2002 
High-rise plan lands critics 
Proposed apartment complex on Route 1 is in airport's traffic area 
By Hattie Brown 
Diamondback staff writer 


  
This former McDonald's on Route 1 is part of the tentatively proposed site 
for a possible 14-story apartment complex for students. JENNIFER LEVI-THE 
DIAMONDBACK     

David Wartofsky knew there would be problems when a private developer built 
more than 20 houses less than 2,000 feet from the runway of Fort Washington's 
Potomac Airfield in 1992. Years later, his fears were confirmed.

Several lawsuits and a plane crash later, Wartofsky, the airport's manager, 
is still lamenting the developer's decision to build near the airport. 
College Park could be next. A private developer is looking to construct a 
14-story apartment complex for students and an adjacent 11-story office 
building on Route 1. The proposed site would be directly in line with the 
College Park Airport's flight path, worrying pilots and airport officials.

The site under consideration for the proposed complex is on the portion of 
Route 1 where a vacant McDonald's restaurant now stands, less than a mile 
from the airport, said Wendy Irminger, a planner for the Maryland-National 
Capital Park and Planning Commission. The property borders #1 Liquor Store 
and Koon's Used Cars.

The university's role in the project remains unclear. Irminger suggested the 
university may try to buy the land for the housing complex and allow the 
developer to build student housing on it, similar to the South Campus Commons 
and University Courtyard complexes. However, the university's involvement in 
this project is still unclear at this point, said Brian Darmody, the 
university's assistant vice president for research and economic development. 
He said the university will most likely not form a public/private partnership 
with the developer, Mark Vogel Cos. "The university's been looking to 
increase the amount of student housing," Darmody said. "We get lots of calls 
from developers who've heard the College Park area is a hot market for 
housing." He said working with Vogel would be part of the university's plan 
to improve the image of Route 1 and build more student housing, but he would 
not elaborate on what the developer is working on for Route 1. "It's their 
confidential deal so I can't be too specific." Vogel Vice President Matt 
Dagostino acknowledged the plans to build the complex, but would not identify 
the university's role in the project or exactly where the complex would be 
located. "I'd prefer not to comment on that right now," Dagostino said. 
"We're working hand in hand with [the university] on this." Pilots said they 
are concerned about safety, and the Park and Planning Commission has issued 
several reports discouraging major development near airports, but university 
officials want more evidence, Darmody said. "We do have some concerns about 
the airport [regulations]," Darmody said. Students getting hurt while 
crossing Route 1 is more of an issue than airplane safety, he said. "Ideally 
the best place for student housing is on the west side of Route 1," Darmody 
said, because students would not need to cross it to get to the campus. "How 
many kids have died crossing Route 1?" he asked, citing several deaths and 
injuries in recent years. "How many kids have been killed from an airplane 
crashing at the College Park Airport? None." But takeoffs and landings may be 
more dangerous if the two high-rises are erected near the airport, airport 
officials and pilots said. It's "not a good idea to mix residences and 
aircraft," said College Park Airport manager Lee Schiek, citing a 1995 
incident at Potomac Airfield. An airplane with engine problems tried to make 
an emergency landing on the end of Potomac's runway, but lost control, 
landing on a house. No one was seriously hurt, but the house incurred roof 
and chimney damage. The property damage could have been prevented if the 
houses were not so close to the runway, said Wartofsky, the Potomac Airfield 
manager. "The open spaces on the end of the runway are basically like the 
breakdown lane of a highway," he said. Residents living near Potomac's runway 
are constantly complaining about noise, officials said. Despite signing 
waivers acknowledging the dangers of living so close to the airport - built 
40 years before the surrounding houses - some residents are pursuing lawsuits 
to shut down the airport. Schiek said he is afraid of similar problems in 
College Park. The airport averages 12,000 flights a year, said pilot Kurt 
Schneckenburger. A multiple-story building like the one proposed would create 
a danger for the pilots and the residents, Schneckenburger said. The complex 
would most likely have a cell phone antenna, increasing the minimum height 
the pilots could fly in the area. "You might hit the building. That's 
basically what it comes down to," said Schneckenburger, who estimates the 
proposed site is within 1 mile of the airport's runway. 

There are no regulations curtailing construction near airports; the Park and 
Planning Commission can only make recommendations about the safety, Irminger 
said. The Federal Aviation Administration does not have zoning authority and 
does not consider the safety of people on the ground, Schneckenburger said. 
According to FAA regulation Part 77, the FAA only governs the arrival and 
departure of aircraft. Officials evaluate the distance of the building from 
the runway and determine the maximum height the building can be. If the 
building is above the maximum height, the only thing the FAA will do is deem 
the building an obstacle. This will make it harder for the developer to get 
insurance on the building; however, land owned by the university is 
self-insured. Since the late 1990s, Park and Planning Commission officials 
have studied land use and its effects on aircraft safety in hopes of creating 
building regulations, Irminger said. The commission hired outside aviation 
consultants to assess the safety of the project. According to the study, the 
"consultant believes that every effort should be made to discourage or 
prevent development in any area that is contrary to the recommendations in 
the Accident Potential Zone discussion and land use chart. ... Proposed 
'high-rise' buildings or facilities are definitely inappropriate, even if 
they are at the far extent of [zone 4, one of the farther zones from the 
runway]." But building the complex could have a lasting effect on the 
airport, Irminger said. If the complex's residents complain enough, an end 
result could be the closing of College Park Airport, the world's oldest 
operating airport. Taxpayers have paid nearly $150,000 to keep the 
county-owned airport running since Sept. 11, Irminger said. Planes not based 
in College Park prior to Sept. 11 are still banned from the airport, which 
reopened two weeks ago after being closed Sept. 11 for security reasons. "Our 
main concern is the height of that building," said Ashish Solanki, an airport 
services officer for the Maryland Aviation Administration. "The question is: 
How can we find an equal ground of the economic development of College Park 
and the continuing of the College Park airport. "Some airports in the country 
have been literally closed down due to the growth of communities. Airports 
get pressure to close down." Schneckenburger agrees that economic development 
is inevitable; however, safety should come first. "We're not saying it should 
be stopped," Schneckenburger said. "It should be moved." 

=== end ===

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