La Plata, MD – Among the many arguments raised during the Tuesday, June 21 public hearing on the proposed Comprehensive Plan, were questions about the future of the Maryland Airport.
Some are concerned that the proposed Comprehensive Plan will allow residential development to encroach on the airport, something expressed as a concern in a recent study conducted at great expense by the county regarding the facility.
Billie Stacher of La Plata told the commissioners that they needed to support Maryland Airport.
“The argument for supporting it is beyond dispute,” Stacher said.
“Make a proper land use decision that will allow the airport to thrive,” he implored. “The Federal Aviation Administration has predicted that increased demand will cause increased capacity for small airports like Indian Head.”
Stacher asserted that the Maryland Airport contributes more than $9 million annually to the local economy.
“The Charles County land use plan study was designed to protect the airport from intense residential development,” he said.
Gil Bauserman, owner of the Maryland Airport, said the facility worked with private funding and state funding.
“It was never designed to pass for anything other than industrial property,’ Bauserman said. “The airport has more open land than a golf course, with 15 acres for commercial construction. By changing the zoning designation for property around the airport. It would limit the airport to that 15 acres with no room for expansion.”
A 2015 land use study at the cost of $50,000, revealed several areas of importance regarding the facility.
The study identified six areas of need in considering the plan: To propose land-use standards that minimize the public’s exposure to safety hazards and excessive noise from the airport; Prevent the encroachment of incompatible land uses around the airport in order to preserve the future utility of the airport; Ensure the growth of aviation compatible economic development activity within the areas surrounding the airport; Assess future growth and development with respect to environmental conditions related to the Mattawoman Creek Watershed; Explore the potential for return on investment to extend sewer lines to the area, including the Indian Head Science and Technology Park, and; Develop a marketing strategy to promote the airport as well as potential commercial development and employment opportunities in the surrounding area.
A public hearing held before the Charles County Planning Commission last July brought many differing opinions on the land use study.
John Collier, president of the Southern Maryland Association of Realtors, told the board they wholeheartedly support the expansion of Maryland Airport.
“The airport was established in 1945,” he said. “We can, need and should establish land use policies to promote the airport. Charles County is in desperate need of an expanded industrial tax base. We need to lessen the impact on residents carrying the burden of taxation.
“We’re in direct competition with other counties when businesses decide where to locate,” he added.
Jim Long of the Mattawoman Watershed Society said that no new land should be considered for development.
“We have a strong interest because many of the recommendations would damage the health of Mattawoman Creek, which has reached a tipping point,” Long said.
“Nearly all the land surrounding the airport is a forested target ecological area,” he added. “Too many other ecological studies are missing from the study.”
“Our members have felt at disenchantment for the western section of Charles,” stated Evelyn Hungerford. “This demands vision. We now have the long-awaited land use study and we are pleased with most of that. It is a privately owned business and up until now has not used any money from the county. I am pleased that the airport will pay 75 percent of the cost.”
Vince Hungerford focused on the word squander, which he said Webster defines as to lose and advantage or opportunity due to negligence or inaction.
“Think of the synergy here,” he said. “We are 25 miles south of Washington, D.C. National Harbor is just up the road. They have had one accident at the airport and that was 40 years ago.
“This is the future economic engine for western Charles,” Hungerford noted. “Let’s not let it slip away because of inaction. Let’s not squander this opportunity.”
Kevin Grimes told the board that Indian Head was “a much better place to direct development.
“You would not have to run a sewer line, you would not have to run water,” he stated. “It will not be an economic engine.”
“Do what’s right for the citizens, not just what will make a few people rich,” he concluded.
The airport is likely to be a point of debate when the Charles County Commissioners meet next week to discuss amendments to the proposed Comprehensive Plan.
Contact Joseph Norris at joe.norris@thebaynet.com
