Since its inception in January of 2008, VABA has taken a number of steps, along with other Airport stakeholders to try to help with the perceived problems at the Airport:
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VABA provided input into development of the voluntary “Fly Friendly Procedures” brochure for distribution to users of the Airport. City Council recently rejected the brochure and sent it back to the Airport Advisory Board for reconsideration.
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VABA members who receive customers by air have had some success in encouraging turbine aircraft to voluntarily utilize Runway 22 for take off, weather permitting. Departures on Runway 22 tend to produce less noise impact on the surrounding community.
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VABA officers entered into a dialog with representatives of neighborhood groups in an effort to arrive at practical solutions to the Golf Course and Golf Shores concerns (the “VABA/Citizens Group”). To learn more about these issues see VABA's Position on the Venice Golf Course and see VABA's Position on the RPZ over Gulf Shores
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VABA members provided air transportation to the VABA/Citizens Group to meet with the MEA/Hanson representative in Palm Beach Florida. The purpose of this meeting was to ask questions of MEA/Hanson relative to their work on the Master Plan Update and Airport Layout Plan.
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VABA officers held a number of meetings with the Citizens Group to develop two Conceptual Airport Layout Diagrams. The Mayor, accompanied by the City Manager, presented the first conceptual Airport diagram to the FAA in Washington D. C. early in 2008 (“Plan One”). Plan One was not endorsed by the VABA. Plan One described an airport configuration that was designed to constrain all Runway Safety Areas and Runway Protection Zones to Airport property. The only way that Plan One would be acceptable to the FAA would be if the Airport Reference Codes were downgraded to B-II. The FAA response was not encouraging. The VABA believes that the FAA is not likely to consent to downgrading facilities at the Airport. The Mayor was advised that he should consult with the FAA Airport District Office (“ADO”) in Orlando FL which has jurisdiction over KVNC.
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In the interim, the VABA/Citizens Group continued to meet and was able to come to a consensus with respect to a compromise conceptual Airport diagram which embodied certain “Modifications to Standards” which were contained in the year 2000 MPU either explicitly or implicitly (“Plan Two”) without downgrading the runway ARCs.
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The Mayor, accompanied by the City Manager, the Airport Director and two members of the VABA/Citizens group met with the FAA ADO in Orlando on May 8th, 2008 to present Plan Two and ask for guidance. The FAA representatives advised that they would review the diagram and provide written comments by the end of May, 2008. The FAA further advised that the MPU update, in any event, would be due by August 31st, 2008.
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On May 30th, 2008 the FAA issued its response. Again, the results were not encouraging. The FAA made it clear that it has no intention of allowing Modifications to Standards at KVNC in the absence of evidence that all alternatives to compliance have been considered. (Read the letter for yourself!)