Airport concessions

By Staff Reports

Rock Hill and York County officials deserve credit for agreeing to drop the noise disclosure forms from a list of proposed new rules around the Rock Hill/York County Airport.

The disclosure form would have required residents living near the airport to declare that their homes were subject to "significant noise levels as a result of the airport operations." The required forms had been part of the effort to create an overlay district that encompasses the airport and neighboring homes and businesses.

A proposal to require some nearby residents to increase noise-buffering insulation in their homes also was dropped. Existing homes have been grandfathered in, and the insulation requirements would apply only to new homes.

The noise form had become the focal point for protests by residents who feared the forms would cause property values to plummet and make it impossible to sell their homes. Residents also resented the fact that the forms affected 1,800 homes in the area even though some were far enough from the airport that noise from planes rarely could be heard.

On Monday, city and county officials announced that they would drop the forms and delay any new action regarding the proposed rule changes for at least three months while more talks can be held with residents. Both City Manager Carey Smith and County Manager Jim Baker said no one would propose noise forms again for as long as they are in office.

While officials dropped the forms in response to complaints from residents, they also had found that the forms were unnecessary. Similar disclosures already are required under state law. In fact, the state requires sellers to disclose any nearby nuisances, no matter where they live.

Still, we hope that this concession will help defuse the anger and concern on the part of residents. We also hope that, after the three-month moratorium, the effort to implement new airport rules can resume with residents' participation.

While we think city and county officials deserve credit for listening to complaints and deciding not to dig in their heels regarding the noise forms, we also think they are justified in seeking to extend the airport runway and encouraging more business flights to use the airport.

As we have stated before, long-range plans to create an overlay district and upgrade the airport have been public knowledge for years. And hundreds of new homes were built and sold in the vicinity of the airport despite the certainty that air traffic would increase.

The airport never was intended to accommodate large passenger planes such as those that land at Charlotte-Douglas International Airport. The extension of the local runway is more a safety feature to allow smaller aircraft to take off in hot weather.

But we also contend that anyone who buys a home next to an airport must expect some noise from planes. We hope that when this process resumes in a few months, residents will enter the discussion with a spirit of cooperation and the realization that growth of the airport is a necessary part of local economic development.

IN SUMMARY

City and county officials were right to back off on proposed noise forms.

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