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Item 1.C.
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| City Council Regular | |
| Date: | 11/08/2021 |
| Title: | Land Purchase North of Airport for Noise Buffer |
| Presented by: | Kevin Ploehn, Director of Aviation and Transit |
| Department: | Airport |
| Presentation: | No |
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the City Council approve the purchase of 72.77 acres of land north of the Airport from Alkali Timbers, LLC for $552,000 authorizing the Mayor to execute the Buy/Sell and all subsequent closing documents.
BACKGROUND (Consistency with Adopted Plans and Policies, if applicable)
A large section of the land north of the Airport was recently acquired by Alkali Timbers, LLC from the Dr. Morledge Family, LLC with the intent to be developed into an area of residential housing. This caused some concerns with the Airport's staff and subsequently a meeting between the new owners and Airport staff took place to discuss what a housing development directly north of the Airport (Exhibit 3) might mean. After discussions, the two parties agreed on a portion of the land that would be cut out of the development and reserved for the Airport's purchase when the property was surveyed and re-platted. This is reflected on Certificate of Survey No. 3795, as Tract C (Exhibit 4). Additionally, an easement is being provided through the new subdivision for the Airport to access the parcel from the north.
The most significant concern of the Airport that prompted this transaction has been the increase in noise complaints from folks significantly further away than this land. The majority of those noise complaints are coming from the operation of smaller turboprop aircraft that fly over the City. With the proximity to the main runway of the Tract C area (Exhibits 1 & 2), the large jet aircraft noise will also come into play. The new Tract C includes a lower southwest corner that is approximately 700 feet away from the Airport's main Runway 10L/28R. A large section of the new Tract C is a large flat area that is fairly level and at a similar height to the Airport, making an attractive subdivision development area. In fact, a previous preliminary platting completed by the Morledge Family had a cul-de-sac in the lower southwest corner of the Tract C area, but their pursuit of this subdivision never came to fruition. As the Airport continues to get busier, a larger emphasis should be considered regarding protecting the valuable Airport asset from the encroachment of residential development, otherwise the Airport and City will likely be engaged in noise mitigation measures that are both costly and time-consuming. The Planning Department has been helpful in this regard, by requiring any applicant for annexation in the area to sign off on the Airport's Perpetual Air Rights Easement.
While the noise contours in this area (Exhibit 5) are not the highest in the runway area, they are still fairly high, and if a future homeowner was outdoors barbecuing with family and friends, having a conversation would be difficult when an aircraft was at full thrust while taking off to the west, the direction used about 80% of the time due to the prevailing winds. In 2019, the monthly average of aircraft operations using the Airport was 7,500 per month. In 2021 through September, the average is over 8,200. That is a lot of operations for a residential area only 1,000 feet or less from the Airport's main runway. For a visual perspective, Exhibit 6 shows parcel Tract C from the main Runway 10L/28R and from the east side of the old north/south Runway 16/34.
Alkali Timbers, LLC is asking a price of $552,000 for the 72.77 acres in Tract C, which is $7,585 per acre. The appraised amount for this parcel was $510,000. The difference is made up of a number of items such as realtor commissions of $17,000, attorney fees for generating the easement of $2,000, lost acreage value from the easement of $22,000, and closing fees/recordings of $1,000. Staff tried to negotiate the price closer to the appraised amount, but Alkali Timbers, LLC would not budge and indicated that they could just develop the area.
The most significant concern of the Airport that prompted this transaction has been the increase in noise complaints from folks significantly further away than this land. The majority of those noise complaints are coming from the operation of smaller turboprop aircraft that fly over the City. With the proximity to the main runway of the Tract C area (Exhibits 1 & 2), the large jet aircraft noise will also come into play. The new Tract C includes a lower southwest corner that is approximately 700 feet away from the Airport's main Runway 10L/28R. A large section of the new Tract C is a large flat area that is fairly level and at a similar height to the Airport, making an attractive subdivision development area. In fact, a previous preliminary platting completed by the Morledge Family had a cul-de-sac in the lower southwest corner of the Tract C area, but their pursuit of this subdivision never came to fruition. As the Airport continues to get busier, a larger emphasis should be considered regarding protecting the valuable Airport asset from the encroachment of residential development, otherwise the Airport and City will likely be engaged in noise mitigation measures that are both costly and time-consuming. The Planning Department has been helpful in this regard, by requiring any applicant for annexation in the area to sign off on the Airport's Perpetual Air Rights Easement.
While the noise contours in this area (Exhibit 5) are not the highest in the runway area, they are still fairly high, and if a future homeowner was outdoors barbecuing with family and friends, having a conversation would be difficult when an aircraft was at full thrust while taking off to the west, the direction used about 80% of the time due to the prevailing winds. In 2019, the monthly average of aircraft operations using the Airport was 7,500 per month. In 2021 through September, the average is over 8,200. That is a lot of operations for a residential area only 1,000 feet or less from the Airport's main runway. For a visual perspective, Exhibit 6 shows parcel Tract C from the main Runway 10L/28R and from the east side of the old north/south Runway 16/34.
Alkali Timbers, LLC is asking a price of $552,000 for the 72.77 acres in Tract C, which is $7,585 per acre. The appraised amount for this parcel was $510,000. The difference is made up of a number of items such as realtor commissions of $17,000, attorney fees for generating the easement of $2,000, lost acreage value from the easement of $22,000, and closing fees/recordings of $1,000. Staff tried to negotiate the price closer to the appraised amount, but Alkali Timbers, LLC would not budge and indicated that they could just develop the area.
ALTERNATIVES
City Council may:
- Approve the purchase of 72.77 acres from Alkali Timbers, LLC for the Airport as a noise buffer for the future residential development in the area; or
- Not Approve the purchase of the land.
FISCAL EFFECTS
The Airport would spend $552,000 for the land. This is an item that was budgeted for, and the funds are available in the Airport's capital account. This purchase would consist of all Airport funds and would not include any Federal assistance. In order to utilize Federal assistance, this project would have needed to be in the Airport's Five-Year Airport Improvement Program (AIP) CIP. Since this land deal popped up in the last year and all available grant funding is tied to either the Terminal Expansion or the replacement of the concrete ramps surrounding the Terminal Building through 2024, there would not be an opportunity to fund this with AIP grant funds (assuming the FAA felt it was eligible) until 2025 or later.