Print
Comment
Rate
County P&Z commission says no to airpark permit
By Shar Porier/wick communications
BISBEE - A request for a special-use permit to construct a private air park in McNeal on Davis Road was denied by the county Planning and Zoning Commission last Wednesday, June 10.
The unanimous decision was based on the overwhelming opposition by 38 neighboring property owners and on the basis that the 40-acre parcel was not large enough to support two runways and four homes as proposed by the applicant, Alaskan James O'Neill.
A big concern of many area residents was that the runways would attract drug smugglers or illegal immigrants. A few neighbors emphasized that illegal activity has been occurring in the abandoned building on the property. The commissioners agreed that there were a number of other airports in the vicinity.
As pointed out by county planner Keith Dennis, the county's Bisbee-Douglas International Airport, Tribal Air, Douglas Airport and Tombstone at the opposite end of Davis Road are convenient to the property.
Dennis told the commissioners that the impacts of aircraft cannot be controlled and the air park would contribute to noise and more air traffic which can have an effect on livestock.
O'Neill, who called in from Fairbanks, Alaska, said in his experience wildlife doesn't pay much attention to air traffic that's 500 feet above them.
McNeal resident Helene Jackson did not believe the county had the manpower to monitor any private airports to see if livestock or people were being "buzzed" or that pilots were storing fuel on the premises.
"They only way the county will know what's going on is if the neighbors complain," Jackson said.
Jackson also quoted back to them comments the commissioners made at another meeting when another air strip, this one in Double Adobe, was shot down.
McNeal resident Randy Bell also opposed the air park. As a draft horse breeder, he says aircraft do "spook" them. He also voiced concern to drugs being dropped at the site that lies just a matter of minutes from the Mexican border.
The special-use permit requested by Delores and Parker Gayden to bring their hay sales operation into compliance was approved. The Gaydens have been selling hay and alfalfa for many years to commercial feed stores and to select customers. They also store the hay onsite for customers who do not have enough room.
The Gaydens also plan to start a horse hotel and work with 4-H groups on the 16.23 acres on Highway 92 in Palominas.
Planner Michael Turisk presented a draft of new site development standards for solar energy systems, both residential and commercial. The county needs to have such standards in place as the Arizona Corporation Commission set a renewable energy goal that will produce 15 percent of Arizona's power production by 2025. Though that date is a long way off, the county needs to be prepared for the possibility that a solar plant could be constructed long before then.
One of the best areas in the county is in the Sulphur Springs Valley according to studies of the intensity of the sun and the grade level, Turisk pointed out. Unfortunately, that area also coincides with Whitewater Draw and the Willcox Playa where thousands of birds winter every year, particularly the Sand Hill Cranes. It also is the location of some of the county's best agricultural land.
The draft states that residential solar systems could take place in all zoning districts and on all sizes of parcels with few, if any, constraints.
Commissioner Jim Martzke asked about the problem with trees shading solar elements on residential rooftops or systems that are mounted on the ground.
Turisk and staff determined that such matters would be between the property owners and that the county would not be involved in such disputes. Besides, the county has few tall trees and is rural. In Sierra Vista or other municipalities there could be more of a problem, but he doesn't see that for the county.
Commercial solar plants would be allowed in Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial zonings or in rural areas that are very flat with one degree or less in slope. Such plants do require lots of land.
The draft is a work in progress and the commissioners will take another look at it later this summer.
Herald/Review reporter Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
The unanimous decision was based on the overwhelming opposition by 38 neighboring property owners and on the basis that the 40-acre parcel was not large enough to support two runways and four homes as proposed by the applicant, Alaskan James O'Neill.
A big concern of many area residents was that the runways would attract drug smugglers or illegal immigrants. A few neighbors emphasized that illegal activity has been occurring in the abandoned building on the property. The commissioners agreed that there were a number of other airports in the vicinity.
As pointed out by county planner Keith Dennis, the county's Bisbee-Douglas International Airport, Tribal Air, Douglas Airport and Tombstone at the opposite end of Davis Road are convenient to the property.
Dennis told the commissioners that the impacts of aircraft cannot be controlled and the air park would contribute to noise and more air traffic which can have an effect on livestock.
O'Neill, who called in from Fairbanks, Alaska, said in his experience wildlife doesn't pay much attention to air traffic that's 500 feet above them.
McNeal resident Helene Jackson did not believe the county had the manpower to monitor any private airports to see if livestock or people were being "buzzed" or that pilots were storing fuel on the premises.
"They only way the county will know what's going on is if the neighbors complain," Jackson said.
Jackson also quoted back to them comments the commissioners made at another meeting when another air strip, this one in Double Adobe, was shot down.
McNeal resident Randy Bell also opposed the air park. As a draft horse breeder, he says aircraft do "spook" them. He also voiced concern to drugs being dropped at the site that lies just a matter of minutes from the Mexican border.
The special-use permit requested by Delores and Parker Gayden to bring their hay sales operation into compliance was approved. The Gaydens have been selling hay and alfalfa for many years to commercial feed stores and to select customers. They also store the hay onsite for customers who do not have enough room.
The Gaydens also plan to start a horse hotel and work with 4-H groups on the 16.23 acres on Highway 92 in Palominas.
Planner Michael Turisk presented a draft of new site development standards for solar energy systems, both residential and commercial. The county needs to have such standards in place as the Arizona Corporation Commission set a renewable energy goal that will produce 15 percent of Arizona's power production by 2025. Though that date is a long way off, the county needs to be prepared for the possibility that a solar plant could be constructed long before then.
One of the best areas in the county is in the Sulphur Springs Valley according to studies of the intensity of the sun and the grade level, Turisk pointed out. Unfortunately, that area also coincides with Whitewater Draw and the Willcox Playa where thousands of birds winter every year, particularly the Sand Hill Cranes. It also is the location of some of the county's best agricultural land.
The draft states that residential solar systems could take place in all zoning districts and on all sizes of parcels with few, if any, constraints.
Commissioner Jim Martzke asked about the problem with trees shading solar elements on residential rooftops or systems that are mounted on the ground.
Turisk and staff determined that such matters would be between the property owners and that the county would not be involved in such disputes. Besides, the county has few tall trees and is rural. In Sierra Vista or other municipalities there could be more of a problem, but he doesn't see that for the county.
Commercial solar plants would be allowed in Light Industrial and Heavy Industrial zonings or in rural areas that are very flat with one degree or less in slope. Such plants do require lots of land.
The draft is a work in progress and the commissioners will take another look at it later this summer.
Herald/Review reporter Shar Porier can be reached at 515-4692 or shar.porier@bisbeereview.net.
 |
 |
|
| FSA County Committee nominations | Frontiersman |
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of willcoxrangenews.com.
