Lake Elmo Airport expansion plan faces opposition

Plans to extend Lake Elmo Airport's two runways and realign a nearby road are spurring organized opposition from residents concerned about larger planes overhead, increased noise and more car traffic.

Some people who live just south of the airport in West Lakeland Township may get a chance to voice their concerns to Gov. Mark Dayton, expected to tour the area on Monday at the invitation of state Sen. Karin Housley, R-St. Mary's Point.

Housley said Dayton hoped to bring along Dan Boivin, whom he appointed as chairman of the Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC), which is proposing the runway extensions and other changes in a draft of a long-term plan for the airport.

"They don't mind the airport at all," Housley said of residents, who sported "No airport expansion" T-shirts earlier this month at Housley's booth at the Washington County Fair. "They know it's there and they welcome it. But anything more than that is not what they're prepared for, nor do they want it in their backyard."

West Lakeland Township resident Marian Appelt, who has helped organize neighbors who passed out fliers and visited homeowners to make them aware of the airport plan, said an influx of larger, louder planes is her primary worry.

"The neighborhood has no problem with [the airport] the way it is," Appelt said. "One concern would be the longer runway attracting larger planes, decreasing our property values and increasing the noise."

Under the MAC's 20-year plan, the airport would get a new, 3,600-foot primary runway running northwest to southeast. The existing 2,850-foot primary runway would serve as a taxiway. A new crosswind runway would be 2,750 feet long and would gain lighting for night operations. The airports commission would pursue state and federal grants, financed by users of the airport and aviation system, in addition to using its own money to pay for the estimated $11.5 million in improvements. No local sales or property taxes would go into the project.

"That would impact traffic up and down Neal Avenue," Appelt said. "I don't think we're set up to see the kind of traffic 30th Street sees now. It would dump 30th Street off right next to several driveways, and traffic control in that area would be difficult."

The airport work will improve safety and operational capabilities, MAC officials said in a written response to questions. The Federal Aviation Administration also is placing greater emphasis on enforcing "runway protection zones" — areas beyond runways that it wants clear of structures, public roads and railways.

Recreational pilots flying small, propeller-driven aircraft with fewer than 10 passenger seats are expected to continue to use the airport, along with some business users.

Takeoffs and landings are projected to increase only slightly over the next 20 years, to 26,000 operations a year, while the number of aircraft based at the airport is expected to decline from 226 this year to 208 over that period, according to the draft of the plan.

The airport plan also has drawn opposition from the West Lakeland Township Board, which adopted a resolution against it on Aug. 3. Eight crashes that have occurred at the airport over the past 30 years resulted from pilot error or mechanical problems and not runway length, the resolution states, citing airport records.

The airport is within Baytown Township, and supervisors there are considering a similar resolution," Board Chair Kent Grandlienard said. "I haven't necessarily heard of anybody in favor of it."

Todd Nelson is a freelance writer in Woodbury. His e-mail address is todd_nelson@mac.com.