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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFlying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission - 11/09/2006 APPROVED MINUTES FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 9, 2006 7:00 P.M. CITY CENTER Atrium 3 8080 Mitchell Road COMMISSION MEMBERS PRESENT: Chair Rick King, Vice-Chair Jeff Larsen, Commissioners: Joe Harris, Greg McKewan, Mark Michelson, and Brad Stratton COMMISSION MEMBERS ABSENT: Kurt Schendel VISITORS: Scott Skramstad, MAC Jim Welsh, Flying Cloud Control Tower Gordon Huff, Volunteer with MN Business Aviation Association (MBAA) Mitch Anderson, Local Pilot STAFF: Scott Kipp, Senior Planner Carol Pelzel, City Recorder CALL TO ORDER Chair King called the meeting to order at 7:05 p.m. I. APPROVAL OF AGENDA MOTION: Michelson moved, seconded by Larsen, to approve the agenda as published. Motion carried, 6-0. II. APPROVAL OF AUGUST 10, 2006 MINUTES King made several grammatical changes to the minutes. MOTION: Michelson moved, seconded by Larsen, to approve the August 10, 2006 minutes as corrected. Motion carried 4-0-2, with Harris and McKewan abstaining because of absence from that meeting. III. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Chance in Commission Meeting Schedule Kipp explained that at their last meeting, the Commission made a motion to request the City Council to allow the Flying Cloud Airport Advisory Commission to meet on a more regular basis because of the time lag between meetings and the difficulty to FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES November 9, 2006 Page 2 become educated on the various issues with so few meetings. The City Council approved the new meeting schedule. The Commission will now meet on a bimonthly basis (every other month) with the next meeting scheduled for January 11, 2007. B. Very Light Jets (VLJ's) Presentation—Dave Clark, MBAA Via telephone, Dave Clark, Vice President of the Minnesota Business Aviations Association,presented a PowerPoint presentation on Very Light Jets (VLJ's) and the Flying Cloud Airport. Clark provided the Commission with a brief background of his aviation experience and he explained what a VLJ is and why people are purchasing the VLJ. A VLJ is a small jet aircraft approved for single pilot operation and has a maximum take-off weight of less than 10,000 lbs. and seating for up to six passengers. Clark reviewed with the Commission the effects these jets will have on the national airspace system and indicated that they are very quiet jets. They exceed the Stage 4 requirements and noise is a non-issue. For Flying Cloud Airport, the VLJ's are a good thing. It incorporates safety, efficiency and noise reduction which has been needed for a long time. A number of manufacturers are developing and taking orders. It is estimated that 4,500 VLJ's will be operating in the next 10 years. Kipp asked Clark if he foresees the VLJ opening up the air taxi industry throughout the metro airports. Clark responded that in this area,he is not sure. He said that what drives the air taxi industry are open spaces or extreme congestion and neither of these exist in the metro area. Clark said he sees most VLJ activity in private or shared ownership and he does not see air taxi being a big industry in the metro area. Harris asked if there are any plans for Cirrus, located in Duluth, getting into the VLJ market. Clark explained that they did just announce less than a month ago that they were going to build a jet. They have not announced any specifications but he understands it will be a single-engine jet certified for 25,000 feet or less. Clark said he definitely sees the VLJ's at Flying Cloud Airport and overall it will be a positive thing. These jets will allow people to update their flying equipment to quieter more efficient equipment. C. Commissioner's "Top 5 List" of Issues to Discuss King explained that they did receive the top five lists of discussion topics from three Commissioners. He said he feels this information is important and he has asked Larsen to coordinate obtaining these items from the other Commissioners. He also asked for a volunteer from the Commission to assist Larsen in prioritizing these items based on frequency. He would like the Commission to discuss this list at their next meeting and to spend time on the list to make sure everyone is comfortable with it. Michelson volunteered to assist Larsen in establishing and prioritizing this list. Once the new City Council comes on board they will reaffirm with them that they are on the right FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES November 9, 2006 Page 3 track. On the educational topic area, in January the Commission will have discussion focused on the view of the airport from the neighborhood perspective. D. Update on Comprehensive Plan for the Airport Kipp reported that the City is updating its Comprehensive Guide Plan. The Metropolitan Council is requiring that the Plan be updated by 2008. Much of this information is being put together in draft form. The airport portion will be available for this Commission's review and comment at the next meeting. Kipp pointed out that the current Guide Plan has a separate element for the airport. The Metropolitan Council's Policy Plan has merged its aviation section with its transportation section. The City's Guide Plan will do the same. The City will be looking at compatible land issues on the east side of the airport. Some of the sites are guided for housing and they are looking at changing the land use plan to allow for small office building type uses that are compatible with the airport environment. They will also be looking at noise attenuation requirements for new development within one mile of the airport. Kipp pointed out that there is a map included in the Commission's agenda material that shows the noise contours. Those contours are based on the expanded airport. Kipp said that once the first draft of the aviation section is completed,he will get it to this Commission for their review and will forward the Commission's comments to the consultant and City staff. E. Draft Airport Zoning Code Kipp reported that about a year ago City staff met with MAC for an update on that status of the airport expansion. At that meeting staff discussed the City's proposal to create some airport zoning controls. The purpose of the controls would be to address building aesthetics for future hangar development and hangar redevelopment at the airport. Kipp explained that the information included in the agenda packet highlights the thought process of what the Code should do and should not do. At this point, staff is just putting together information for the Code. The Code does not address the size of the building or parking requirements. MAC has requirements of their own for these things. Kipp further explained that the main focus of the Code is to have something in place that would allow for upgrading of materials and design for hangars and fixed based operators. In response to a question from Stratton, Kipp explained that ASI did go through a site plan and review process with the City when they constructed their new building. MAC also has their own review process while the City looks at the architecture and compatibility with the surrounding area. Kipp indicated that staff is fine tuning the language in the Code and this Code will be addressed in the new Guide Plan update. Kipp stated that the City does not want to get involved with MAC's Minimum Standards ordinance issues. The City is concerned with the aesthetics of the buildings on the field. They are not duplicating what MAC already has. King asked if the City FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES November 9, 2006 Page 4 has the jurisdiction to put the Code in place. Kipp responded that there are court cases that show jurisdiction on both sides. This will be looked into further. King said it is his hope that they can design something that will work with what MAC already has. Harris explained that each individual City has certain requirements. MAC has nothing in place to enforce aesthetic issues. Kipp indicated that the Commission did put some guidelines in place in 1996 and MAC was willing to endorse the process. They need to determine what they can do to mandate these requirements. When a project goes through the site plan review, they can look at the architecture of the proposed building. Harris pointed out that they have not had a lot of new construction occurring at Flying Cloud Airport. The three most recent hangars built did follow the guide for new construction. Michelson asked if they were essentially putting together the guidelines for MAC enforcement. Kipp said that if MAC wants to enforce aesthetic standards acceptable to the City that would be great. The City does not want to get in the way of designing the hangars. McKewan asked if this Code would require a certain look for the outside appearances. Kipp said it would provide for a mixture of construction materials. IV. EDUCATIONAL ITEMS A. Land Use Compatibility Guidelines for Aircraft Noise Kipp reported that Metropolitan Council has put together land use compatibility guidelines that include a noise footprint of each airport and defines the long-term comprehensive plan for noise contours based on 2010 and 2015 growth. Basically, the document is used to define compatible and incompatible land uses near the airports and talks about construction standards. This document also references buffer zones. The document is self-explanatory and includes a builder's guide. Kipp said MAC has acquired much of the land with the safety zones which also covers the noise zones. The City will work with these guidelines to mitigate noise and the impact to sites around the airport. B. Reliever Airports Task Force Update—Joe Harris Harris explained for about the past three months MAC has been in negotiations with Northwest Airlines. These negotiations have been put on hold because of the uncertainty of the Governor's race, which may affect some of the terms of MAC Board members. Harris reported that the Task Force has been working hard to deal with existing hangar structures. The construction of new hangars has some solid rules to follow but they need to improve the look of the existing hangars. They have been soliciting the help of every one and have been calling the various cities to help them address these issues. It is easy to identify the hangars that need to be improved but it is difficult to know how far they should go to get them to update their facilities. Some FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES November 9, 2006 Page 5 of the hangars will have to be demolished. Harris said it is difficult to determine where they should begin with this process. The tenants know they are working on this but are resistant to it. Harris said the hangars at Flying Cloud are some of the worst hangars in MAC's system and they don't flow with the community. This is one issue they are moving forward on. Harris further reported that they expect negotiations with NWA to go to the first of the year. Once that is completed they will then move forward with other reliever issues. Harris said the other big thing the Task Force is working on is the updating of the Airport Long Term Comprehensive Plan. There will be a series of public hearings held. This document will map out the Airport Plan for the next 20 years. Harris indicated that they hope to have the update completed by the end of 2007. McKewan asked if MAC could require people to update their hangars. Harris said they believe they can. Stratton questioned if the hangars are profitable for most of the owners. Harris answered that those people who sublease the space and collect monthly rent are profitable. In response to a question from McKewan, Harris explained that the hangars at Flying Cloud are not large enough for storage of RV's and boats. V. FINAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY AND MAC A. FCM Airport User Briefing—Joe Harris Harris reported that they held their second user briefing of the year. The fall meeting is held on site and its purpose is to reach the aviation community. It is for the commercial operators and at that meeting they tell the operators what they want them to do as commercial operators at the airport. This is a mandatory meeting and if the operators do not attend this meeting they are not allowed to use the facilities. They talk about operations, snow removal,policies, etc. and it also gives them an opportunity to find out how things are going for the operators. The second purpose of this meeting was to brief the operators on Ordinance 97 and what requirements they must follow and what MAC expects with run ups. Harris said at the fall meeting they presented the Flying Cloud Airport Commercial Operator of the year award to ASI Jet Center. They have demonstrated their high regard and adherence to Ordinance 97. Harris explained that they have made a significant improvement to the airport with their facility. Stratton questioned if run-ups during the evening are an issue at Flying Cloud. Harris answered that lately they are not an issue. Most operators shut down at 10 p.m. For the last two years, maintenance run-ups are non-existent. Larsen pointed out that the previous Commission was not good about having conversations with the people involved in Flying Cloud Airport. Prior to this meeting, FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES November 9, 2006 Page 6 Larsen said the Commission had not met with people who were hobbyist. He said he found visiting the technical school to be both very interesting and informative. Larsen stated that he had no idea of the quality of the institution that exists in the City. He suggested that Commission members visit the school. Larsen asked if the City acknowledges the winner of the Flying Cloud Airport Commercial Operator of the year award. Kipp responded that they have not but the City Council has an annual workshop on Flying Cloud operations and this may be an opportune time to acknowledge the award and to acknowledge ASI Jet Center's support for the noise abatement program. Larsen said he feels this award benefits the community by having operators who are trying to comply with the noise abatement program. The City should recognize these people. King asked if there is anything the City can do at this time in terms of recognizing ASL Kipp answered that he does not know when the joint workshop will be held but they could put this item on the agenda. Kipp said they could also put something on the City's website. B. Noise Complaints/Stage 2 Operations Reports (August-October) —Joe Harris Skramstad presented the noise complaint report for the months of August, September and October. There were a total of 52 complaints from 18 different people. Forty- three of those complaints were received in the month of October. Stratton asked why there was such a high number received in October. Skramstad responded that with noise complaints, there is no methodology or reason as to why they are higher in a particular month. This is also the case with all other reliever airports. Most of the complaints received were for early morning and late night operations. Skramstad said that after investigating the complaints, 12 letters were mailed to operators they could identify. The operators were informed that there is a valid noise abatement agreement in place. Six complaints involved MSP operations where planes fly over Flying Cloud but do not stop. Skramstad reported that five of the flights that took off between 6 a.m. and 7 a.m. complied with the requirements and did not receive a letter. Kipp asked if MAC notifies the complainant that the operator was in compliance. Skramstad said they do not. If they request a callback, they do call them back. McKewan said he believes MAC should notify the complainant to let them know that the operator was in compliance. He suggested that MAC ask for a return e-mail address. Skramstad said they do have some legal concerns about contacting the complainant. The information they may send that person may be private data. Michelson said the least they could do is acknowledge that they received their complaint. Skramstad said MAC is more than willing to accommodate the community and he will look into notifying the complainants and report back to the Commission. King said the Commission's main concern is that people have legitimate complaints and they need to let them know that they are heard and the complaints are looked into. Skramstad explained that every single complaint that comes through the intemet and telephone comes directly to him and then he starts the investigation process. He FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES November 9, 2006 Page 7 pointed out that 75 percent to 80 percent of the people complaining are the same people who complain every month. VI. NOISE ABATEMENT/AIRCRAFT INCIDENTS Harris asked if it would be helpful to this group for him to bring in a quarterly airport operation tower count comparison from year to year. King said it would be helpful and they could piggyback that on complaints. VII. OTHER BUSINESS (Various FYI Items) • Airport Information Packet • Airport Business Visit—Minneapolis Community Technical College • MSP Minimum Landing Fee • MAC Capital Improvement Program Stratton pointed out that the Capital Improvement Program outlined some deadlines with the runway extension piece being listed for 2009. He asked if this is correct. Harris said their plan is to do this in 2009. There are other projects to be completed in preparation for this project. They hope to take advantage of some funding that is available for this project. King pointed out that the Capital Improvement Program is on MAC's website and this project is included in that Program and is moving forward for Commission approval. Harris said he does not see much change to the Program in 2007. The projects will depend on funding resources. Stratton said he is concerned with the economic development aspect of Flying Cloud Airport. He asked what the difference is between Anoka and Flying Cloud operations. Harris explained that the towers are open the same hours. Flying Cloud does have more flights than Anoka. • MAC Noise Abatement Plan • MAC Noise Abatement Briefing Power Point • Various Aviation Articles • Various Newspaper Articles • Next meeting—January 11, 2007 VIII. ADJOURNMENT Larsen said that as part of a communication process, the Commission should some how get themselves known to the new City Council members. This Commission was referred to twice at the candidate forum and it appeared that most of the candidates did not know the function of this Commission. Kipp said this would be another reason to have a Council workshop with this Commission. FLYING CLOUD AIRPORT ADVISORY COMMISSION MINUTES November 9, 2006 Page 8 MOTION: Larsen moved, seconded by Michaelson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried, 6-0. The meeting adjourned at 9:45 p.m.