Introduction to Citizen Proposals for PDK Master Plan Policies (September 2005)

These four proposals are the ones that concerned citizens feel are most essential to be adopted by the DeKalb County Board of Commissioners, in addition to any other policies that they may see fit to adopt from the PDK Airport Advisory Board (AAB) June 2005 policy recommendations or from the PDK Master Plan Policy Consultant policy recommendations.

These four policy proposals from citizens are vital because they provide concrete guidance and limitations as to how PDK Airport shall be developed in the future, unlike many of the more general policy recommendations from the AAB or the Master Plan Consultants.

The first of these citizen policy proposals--that PDK Airport remain a "general aviation" CII Airport and that no engineering changes be adopted that could make it capable of becoming a CIII commercial airport, able to handle much larger aircraft--is absolutely essential in the view of concerned citizens. Everybody from the PDK Airport Association, representing the pilots, to PDK Watch says they support PDK remaining a CII general aviation airport. If so, then this policy should be stated explicitly for the benefit of those planning for the future of PDK Airport.

The second citizen policy proposal--that there shall be no expansion of current PDK Airport boundaries, except under certain specified conditions--is taken directly from the 1992 PDK Master Plan policy statement. Without the retention of this policy provision, PDK Airport might expand its boundaries in ways that could prove detrimental to the surrounding communities.

The third of these citizen policy proposals asks that steps be taken to create mandatory and enforceable measures to direct aircraft using PDK to use flight paths and flight heights that reduce the noise, safety, and other environmental hazards to the surrounding communities over which the aircraft fly. Without the development of such mandatory and enforceable provisions, the current scatter gun pattern of aircraft flights disrupting surrounding communities can be expected to continue. For example, jets using PDK Airport should not be allowed to bank barely above treetop level when they are between 3 and 4 miles away from PDK Airport over residential neighborhoods, as is currently the case.

The fourth citizen policy proposal--that DeKalb County and PDK Airport abide by the 66,000 lb. limit for aircraft using PDK --is based on the contractually binding promises that the County made to the FAA and to the public in 1988. These promises were the basis for Federal Court of Appeals ruling in 1988 that a 1,000 foot runway extension could be constructed without conducting a federally required Environmental Impact Study first. The reasoning was that since the County was promising that planes larger than the then-existing 66,000 lb. "certified maximum takeoff weight" limit would not be allowed to use PDK Airport in the future, there was no need for a Environmental Impact Statement to consider what the future impact of such larger aircraft might be.

Of course, there are other PDK Airport policies that citizens also feel are important beside the four mentioned above, but these four are the most critically important. There also are certain policy proposals and wording in both the AAB and the Master Plan Consultant policy recommendations that concerned citizens feel need modification. We are convinced, however, that these four key citizen policy recommendations would go a long way towards accomplishing the goal of achieving a proper balance between airport and citizen concerns for the development of PDK Airport, which is supported as a goal in the PDK mission statement.