« Commercial flights at Briscoe Field? »

Last week, the AJC published an article about the possible privatization of Gwinnett County Briscoe Field in Lawrenceville.  The proposal by Propeller Investments would include expanding the airport's runway and beginning commercial airline service from ten gates in a new terminal.

On the surface, I love the idea.  I was encouraged by some of the initial indications of support from local leaders.  (I was pleasantly surprised to see Gwinnett Commissioner Mike Beaudreau speak favorably of the possibility!)  I favor getting government out of the airport business, especially if the proposal appears to be able to generate much needed revenue for the county government while allowing a private owner the opportunity to generate a profit while providing a very valuable service and economic boost to Gwinnett County.  However, the likely opposition of nearby residents, a response that most assuredly is in the offing, cannot be simply dismissed.

If you have read the Buzz for any period of time, you know I am a strong advocate for private property rights while being a fan of high quality development.  Thus, you might assume that I would be squarely on the side of Propeller Investments.  However, as college football commentator Lee Corso would say, “Not so fast, my friend!” As I have discussed extensively on the Buzz, I view property rights issues between neighboring landowners as boiling down to material impact.  In other words, does one owner's use of his or her property pose a material negative impact to a neighboring landowner's ability to use and enjoy his or her property.  It is really a simple perspective.  You can use your property as you see fit so long as it does not keep me from reasonably using and enjoying my property.  As to how we define "material" and "reasonably", well, I will leave that up to the lawyers.  What you do not have to be a lawyer to see is that the commencement of commercial airline service from a previously general aviation only facility could very well pose a negative material impact to nearby residents.

Commercial aviation is going to generate noise.  That cannot be avoided.  Noise abatement procedures can be put in place to mitigate the impact of the noise, but there will be noise.  If a Boeing 737 is taking off over your house, you're going to hear it.  What must be determined in the consideration of this proposal is how much more noise will be generated than that from the private jets that currently use Briscoe Field?  What total amount of time will neighboring property owners experience elevated noise levels?  What hours of the day will such elevated noise levels occur?  These and other questions will have to be carefully considered to determine if neighbors' inevitable arguments about noise levels will have merit.  If they do, these concerns cannot be dismissed as mere NIMBYism.  Other potentially legitimate factors would include traffic, pollution levels and continued access to the airport by operators of general aviation aircraft.

This promises to be an interesting situation to watch.  I definitely like the idea of easier access to commercial flights for Gwinnett residents.  I am excited at the possibility for commercial development in the airport vicinity and along the GA 316 corridor.  However, we must ensure that the property rights of existing landowners who bought and developed property with the expectation of being near a general aviation airport rather than a commercial aviation airport are considered and protected.

Comments

[dewood]

I am not sure how the air traffic will change if this plan is completed. But the airport has existed in its current layout for 20 years, long before many of the adjacent homes were built. I would have ask the adjacent landowner if they realized that they we buying land near an airport and what they expect to happen at an airport? Its like buy a house along a state highway, some day the DOT will widen the road.

[GTL]

The possibility of commercial passenger flights out of Briscoe came up more than a decade ago when using the airport as a reliever for Hartsfield was floated as a trial balloon.

The NIMBYs came outta the woodwork overnight; very vocal and outraged. Wayne Hill and the rest of the politicians quickly distanced themselves from any semblance of support for the issue.

I knew this would come up again...if Gwinnett is to be a city rivaling Atlanta as envisioned by the commission, an airport with regular passenger service will be required. It's possible I could be affected; I live about five miles from the airport. It would expand the industrial and commercial developement in the area, increasing jobs, but neighborhoods in the area will go downhill.

But many neighborhoods in the area are already going downhill, from age, transition and the real estate crash.

Maybe a passenger oriented airport's time has come.