Brown Field Municipal Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan

APPENDIX CAIRPORT LAND USE COMPATIBILITY CONCEPTSHighly Risk-Sensitive UsesCertain critical types of land uses—particularly schools, hospitals, and other uses in which the mobility ofoccupants is effectively limited—should be avoided near the ends of runways regardless of the number ofpeople involved. Critical community infrastructure also should be avoided near airports. These types offacilities include power plants, electrical substations, public communications facilities and other facilities,the damage or destruction of which could cause significant adverse effects to public health and welfarewell beyond the immediate vicinity of the facility. Lastly, above-ground storage of large quantities ofhighly flammable or hazardous materials may pose high risks if involved in an aircraft accident and,therefore, are generally incompatible close to runway ends.Basis for Setting CriteriaAs with noise contours, risk data alone does not answer the question as to the degree of land userestrictions that should be established in response to the risks. Although most ALUCs have adoptedpolicies that restrict certain land use activities in locations beyond the runway protection zones, the size ofthe area in which restrictions are established and the specific restrictions applied vary from one county toanother.Data useful in defining the geographic extent of airport safety areas are discussed above. Determining thesafety compatibility criteria applicable within these areas presents the fundamental question of what issafe. Expressed another way: what is an acceptable risk? In one respect, it may seem ideal to minimizerisks by prohibiting most types of land use development from areas near airports. However, as addressedin the Handbook, there are usually costs associated with such high degrees of restriction. In practice,safety criteria are set on a progressive scale with the greatest restrictions established in locations with thegreatest potential for aircraft accidents.Little established guidance is available to ALUCs regarding how restrictive safety criteria for variousparts of an airport environs should be. Unlike the case with noise, no formal federal or State laws orregulations that set safety criteria for airport area land uses exist for civilian airports except within runwayprotection zones (and with regard to airspace obstructions, as described separately in the next section).FAA safety criteria primarily focus on the runway and its immediate environment. Runway protectionzones—formerly called clear zones—were originally established mostly for the purpose of protecting theoccupants of aircraft that overrun or land short of a runway. Now, they are defined by the FAA as zonesintended to enhance the protection of people and property on the ground.The most useful reference that ALUCs can use to determine appropriate safety compatibility criteria forairport environs is the Handbook itself. Although the Handbook is not regulatory in nature, State lawobligates ALUCs to “be guided by” the information presented in the Handbook. Suggested usageintensity limitations, measured in terms of people per acre, are set forth along with other safety criteria.Reference should be made to that document for detailed descriptions of the suggested criteria. Three riskrelatedvariables discussed in the Handbook are worth noting here, as follows.C–17Brown Field Municipal Airport Land Use Compatibility PlanJanuary 25, 2010