Wednesday, April 14, 1999
Airport's expansion upsetting neighbors
BY DAVID ECK
Enquirer Contributor
LEBANON — As the Warren County Airport is transformed from a rural airfield to a growing commercial venture, neighbors are voicing concerns about increased air traffic and noise.
On Monday, they presented a petition to Turtlecreek Township trustees asking to restrict further expansion of the airport on Greentree Road. The petition was signed by 21 people who live near the airport.
“The planes are getting bigger. And I know at all hours of the night, they are going in and out,” said Melinda Fox, who has lived near the airport for 45 years. “It's every night. They fly over our farm.”
Within the past 18 months, the five owners of the airport have spent $1.5 million upgrading the field's facilities and services. They have added hangars, a 24-hour automated
fuel system, new signs and pavement. The terminal has been remodeled.
Work on a 15,000-square-foot, $1.5 million terminal and corporate hangar is to begin this spring, and a restaurant could open in an old farmhouse on the property.
About 60 planes are based at the airport, and corporate air traffic increased 40 percent last year, said Brian Carr, airport manager and one of its owners.
But in their petition, neighbors say the airport has grown too quickly and is affecting their daily lives.
They also:
• Oppose any plans for alcohol being made available.
• Want to have prior approval of future plans.
• Want the original house and all outbuildings to be registered as historical landmarks.
“I feel very strongly that this is not the proper location for an air park facility or commercial endeavor,”' said Harley Shook, who has lived on Mulford Road about 10 years. “When it was a single-runway, private airstrip catering primarily to hobbyists, that was one thing. But to put a commercial airport in there is a whole other story.”
He said roads in the area cannot handle the traffic of a busy airport; pollution and noise are problems; and there is no sewer to serve a commercial facility.
“The number of planes coming in extra low has been a problem,” Mr. Shook said. “And as the number of planes increases, it can only get worse.”
Residents also fear a busier airport would hurt their property values.
County officials said the field is being run within zoning requirements. “It's a legitimate use,” said Bob Ware, a regional planner for Warren County.
Mr. Carr said the airport is anoth er sign of Warren County's boom, making it the second-fastest-growing of Ohio's 88 counties.
“Everything's growing, and we have to keep up with the county,” he said. ”All we've done is clean up the facility. Our goal now is to bring deteriorating buildings up to standard.”
The airport wants to work with its neighbors, he said.
“I would like to invite any of them out to the airport,” he said. “We're all neighbors. It will be a first-class general aviation airport. It'll never be a Lunken.”
But with airports all over Greater Cincinnati, there are already too many planes in the area, Mr. Shook said.
“Do we need an air park in every suburb?” he asked. “I don't believe we do. It used to be a small country airport. It's come a long way from that.”
AIRPORT FACTS
• Address: 2460 Greentree Road, Lebanon.
• Based aircraft: 60, including five corporate jets.
• Landings and takeoffs in 1998 (estimated): 20,000.
• Landings and takeoffs in 1995 (estimated): 16,000.
• Runway length: 5,000 feet.
• Size: 270 acres.
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