The Carroll County Airport ordinance was the topic of a very long conversation on Monday morning at the board of supervisors’ meeting. Carl Wilburn, Planning and Zoning Administrator for the county, says he needs a process and the cooperation of both the city of Glidden and the City of Carroll in being able to uphold the ordinance that was drafted in 1978 and only revised a couple of times since. The latest airport regulatory changes made by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) widened the boundaries around the Carroll Airport runway from 10,000 to 20,000 feet. The impact that has on building and permitting within the specified footprint is what has the supervisors concerned. The newly designated space includes about half of the east side of Carroll and the entire city of Glidden. Supervisor Rich Ruggles says, basically, the supervisors are the enforcing agency on the permitting and that they are tasked with ensuring everyone signs off. Not only has this created delays for builders in being able to move forward with projects, there is a good chance of liability exposure because they are not aware of many of the building permits being issued.
Supervisor Chair, Marty Danzer agrees that if the county isn’t involved in the permitting, they shouldn’t be in charge of enforcement.
The precedent Danzer is talking about is the current litigation revolving around a grain leg built by Loren and Pan Danner that was approved through the building permitting process, then later deemed to intrude into the airport airspace. The Carroll Airport Commission has since sought to have the leg removed. Commissioner, Greg Siemann, says that the FAA letter that was sent to the Danners allowing for the retention of the leg was not from the same department that the commission deals with, and that segment of the government organization wants it gone. Siemann says there is a simple statement within the FAA letter that people are forgetting.
Dean Schettler brought it back around to the question of why the county is being burdened with this when it is really not their issue, but one for the commission, the City of Carroll and the City of Glidden. Siemann replies by saying an April meeting with the FAA made it clear they were to enforce this, no exceptions, and that this is federal law. Ruggles and Schettler point out the problem with what Siemann has reported.
Everyone agrees that this will be difficult to enforce, but Wilburn reminds Siemann that the county does not receive permits from the cities, and he asks again, how can he do the enforcement called for in the ordinance if he does not get notice prior to construction from Glidden or Carroll? Since this issue came to light, Wilburn has received permit copies from Glidden, but has gotten none from Carroll. All parties only came to one agreement on Monday, to form a committee and bring the issues back for discussion. Specifically, to talk about the request by the county that all involved should just stamp permits within that regulation area saying further FAA permitting is required through the Carroll Airport Commission, leaving the enforcement to them. Full audio from the meeting can be found below.
