Work Continues at Mackinac Island Airport
By Karen Gould

Dressed in protective gear, with sawdust flying, Mackinac Island State Park employee Robert McGreevy trims branches off an oak tree that was cut down near the airport. The tree, which was removed Thursday, January 18, was a safety hazard to flights landing and taking off at the airport. (Photograph courtesy of Mackinac Island State Park Commission)

Progress continues to be made to bring the Mackinac Island Airport's landing and approaches into compliance with federal safety regulations. While trees that violate height regulations continue to be removed near the runway, one landowner has sought legal advice and has told park staff to stay off his property. Developer Susan Lundgren has donated a piece of hillside land near the airport to the Mackinac Island State Park Commission and the remodeling of the airport terminal building moves forward.

State park staff spent much of the summer and fall working with Michigan Department of Transportation's Bureau of Aeronautics, engineers, and surveyors to properly identify the airspace zone on the west end of the airport and to communicate how the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulations impact these zones.

At this point, it is the understanding of park staff that no homes built in the airport area violate height regulations, and, therefore, none will have to be removed, said Phil Porter, director of Mackinac State Historic Parks, in an update he gave to park commissioners at their January 10 meeting in Lansing.

"There are houses just outside the [runway protection] zone," however, he added.

The state park operates the airport on Mackinac Island with technical advice and support from the Bureau of Aeronautics.

When commissioners met on the Island in September, they faced a room filled with concerned residents who wanted to know if their homes would be torn down and which undeveloped lots would have height restrictions placed on them.

The protection zone is complicated in that it is three-dimensional and changes with distance, height, and angle from the runway.Following survey work this summer, and taking using threedimensional mapping, three lots in the Forest Brook subdivision were found to be unbuildable.

The Bureau of Aeronautics has received a grant from the FAA to purchase those lots and a firm has been retained to oversee the appraisal, negotiation, and purchase process, said Mr. Porter. Once the appraisals are finalized, Aeronautics will negotiate with the landowners to buy their lots. Lots six, seven, and eight are not buildable and their respective owners are Gary Childs of South Lyon, Tom Dougherty of Erlanger, Kentucky, and Dale Ivey of Swartz Creek. The lots were sold to them in 2003 and 2004 at prices between $72,000 and $89,000.

Final ownership of the lots will be transferred to the Mackinac Island Park Commission because the commission operates the airport and its responsibility includes maintaining land that is within the runway protection zone, said Mr. Porter.

Although work is ongoing at the airport, the facility is not expanding, Mr. Porter said. The airport is not changing in size, but the protection zone is being cleared.

"Nothing we are doing is designed to increase the size of aircraft or the amount of air traffic to Mackinac Island," he said, mindful of citizen protests several years ago against enlarging the facility.

The sound of chainsaws continues to echo through the air as state park crews work to remove trees that violate airspace on the western side of the airport.

All of the trees on the west side of the airport are on private land. Trees that were removed in 2005 on the east side of the airport were on park land.

All property owners in the runway protection or approach zones the western side of the airport have been sent consent forms that allow the park to cut down any trees that are in violation of FAA regulations. One landowner, Robert Brockman, has hired an attorney and has refused to allow cutting crews to enter his property, where approximately 50 trees are in violation. Mr. Porter said the commission is communicating with Mr. Brockman's attorney.

Other property owners, he said, have said that they see the tree removal as a benefit because the park is removing the trees at no cost to them.

For approximately 20 years, the commission has had an easement at the end of the runway and was able to cut trees that grew too tall. But trees beyond the easement also lie in the airspace of the airport.

Once the restricted areas were mapped out this fall, the park learned the specific regulations for building and tree height restrictions vary from zone to zone.

"It is very, very complex," said Mr. Porter. "It has never been clarified until this fall and this winter, when we worked with the BOA to make that information known."

The runway protection zone is "the most sensitive area as you come in and out of the airport because it basically represents the final approach, or that sensitive area just as you take off," said Mr. Porter.

Mr. Porter said the FAA safety regulations restricts building construction heights near airports for the safety of people on land and people in the air.

"It's not just for the protection of the plane, it's also for the protection of the owner, in case a plane crashes coming in or taking off," he said.

Future construction will be enforced by the City of Mackinac Island, which regulates zoning on Mackinac Island. City Zoning Administrator Dennis Dombroski will work with property owners and the aviation agencies to insure new homes comply with the safety regulations.

Susan Lundgren, who developed the Forest Brook site condominium, donated to the commission a piece of property that is in the runway protection and approach zones. Between two to three acres in size, the hillside land has easements for utilities and road access.

Progress continues to be made on remodeling work at the airport terminal. Portions of the old building have been torn down, new block foundation walls are in place, and water service to the building was rerouted.

The next phase includes erecting new exterior walls and adding new roof trusses, with work to continue through the winter. The structure is being lengthened by 12 feet to accommodate a larger waiting room. Restrooms are being updated to provide access to people with disabilities and a covered carriage entrance, or porte-cochere, will be added.

The project is expected to be completed this year.

In a related matter, commissioners approved an agreement with the Bureau of Aeronautics to operate the airport for $35,000 through September 30. The commission has received operational support from the bureau for the past several years.