Towns Near W’chester Airport Seek United Front for New Agreement
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Seven communities that are most impacted by airplane volume and noise at Westchester County Airport are seeking a 20-year extension to a terminal use agreement to continue to limit commercial airline traffic.
Last week, the New Castle Town Board became at least the fourth community to pass a resolution supporting renewal of the agreement in largely its current form that regulates how many flights and travelers can use the commercial. The existing agreement, which was originally negotiated for 10 years and renewed twice with five-year extensions, is expiring on Dec. 31.
Greg Elders, co-chair of the town’s Airport Advisory Board, said the seven municipalities that are each represented on the county’s Airport Advisory Board are looking to coalesce behind a resolution to support maintaining the status quo. Commercial flights are currently not to exceed 15 percent of all flights into and out of the airport, with private fixed-base operators making up most of the balance of the air traffic.
“What we’re doing is the broader (county) committee is really trying to put this resolution forward to show our united front to renew that terminal use agreement,” Elders said.
Noise by aircraft traffic has been a source of deep concern among some residents in the seven communities, which also include the city and Town of Rye, North Castle, Port Chester, Mount Pleasant and Harrison. While most of the airport’s flights are from private aviation, those looking to protect the communities also don’t want an increase in commercial airline volume.
Currently, a few of the key provisions of the agreement call for the terminal’s ramps to accommodate only up to four scheduled aircraft at one time; airlines are limited to four “operations,” which are takeoffs and landings per half-hour; a maximum of 240 passengers per half-hour is permitted, although the passenger limits are not enforceable 66 days a year, typically around major holidays;
Board of Legislators Chair Vedat Gashi (D-Yorktown), whose district also includes New Castle, said preliminary conversations have occurred on the but there has been nothing that has been finalized.
“We know it’s coming up at the end of the year,” Gashi said. “The county is in receipt of the requests from the municipalities, various municipalities. At this point, there really hasn’t been any substantive conversations yet.”
The terminal use agreement applies to every commercial airline that operates out of Westchester County Airport and every aircraft operator that’s require to use the terminal, said County Attorney John Nonna. However, the agreement is being negotiated by the county executive’s office and not by the county attorney’s office, Nonna said.
The Intermunicipal Airport Master Plan Task Force has asked that the county and the airlines would for the agreement to be 20 years; for terminal use agreements with the airlines to be staggered rather than all expiring at the same time, which can lead to the potential for coordinated legal challenges; a provision that airlines could not challenge the county for 90 days after the expiration of an agreement; and to adjust the fee schedule to reflect current costs.
By a 3-0 margin, the New Castle Town Board approved the resolution. Supervisor Victoria Tipp, who is listed as the liaison to the town’s Airport Advisory Board, said she thought it was important to signal the town’s support for the proposed continuation of the agreement.
“I don’t have any problems with it the way it is,” Tipp said. “I think it’s very thorough. It adds to what was there before. It adds some protections. I think it’s very good.”
However, she cautioned that the agreement only pertains to commercial airlines using the terminal and not other issues that have played a role in disturbing some residents in the communities near the airport, such as flight paths, altitude guidelines, noise or other concerns.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/