Coalition Master Plan Comments

1. Incorporation of Board of Legislators Resolution 245-2003 into the Master Plan as a fundamental ground rule, as stated above.
2. A full accounting of the airport’s environmental and adverse economic impacts and risks alongside any evaluation of its real and potential economic benefits. This assessment must include both direct and indirect impacts. For example, the airport is directly responsible for greenhouse gas and other pollutant air emissions generated on airport property and by aircraft arriving and departing. It is indirectly responsible for GHG and pollutant emissions by vehicles traveling to and from the airport and by other businesses serving airport needs from outside its boundaries.
3. More realistic, limited demand projections. The Master Plan being replaced assumed robust growth in demand, despite the fact that the number of flight operations has not been increasing, apart from post-COVID restoration. It also disregarded the caps on airline operations set by the County’s Terminal Use Procedures law. These kinds of flaws produced inflated demand projections and were used to justify plans to expand airport facilities. The Master Plan should assume no growth in airport operations.
4. Recommendations for the planning period that assume NO growth in airport facilities despite any projected increase in demand for local aviation services. The airport should have a blueprint on how to manage demand and any resulting operational challenges without expanding the capacity of airport facilities. We may have to accept all the aircraft that our airport can handle, but we don’t have to modify our airport to handle more aircraft. What this suggests is that our Master Plan should carefully consider what kinds of aircraft we dedicate our limited existing resources to attract. For example, how might we prioritize hangar space for Westchester-based businesses with large local economic multipliers over companies that cater largely to New York City and Fairfield County clientele, or private leisure flights to regional weekend destinations.
5. A framework and recommendation for Expansion Assessment Reviews to be conducted on airport projects that are subject to an environmental review process. This additional review would evaluate a project’s potential for expanding airport capacity and explore mitigation measures that could be taken to eliminate or minimize expansion risks. The Master Plan should endorse the adoption of Expansion Assessment Reviews as a standard operating procedure following a process like that of environmental reviews with respect to timeline, documentation, public participation, and transparency.

• Strategies to strengthen the Voluntary Restraint From Flying (VRFF) that go beyond simply publicizing and encouraging adherence to the VRFF and include measures that create accountability for those who disregard the well-being of Westchester residents by flying overnight. For example, other airports prominently post the names of violators (giving them opportunity to justify themselves). Also, the cost per operator to keep the airport running all night is much higher than during daytime hours yet all currently pay the same user fees. Day users should not be subsidizing VRFF violators. The Master Plan should evaluate and recommend drastically increased overnight fees instead.

• A formal study, or at least the recommendation for a study of an alternative airport funding strategy, that substitutes user fees instead of taxpayer-subsidized FAA grants that come with big strings attached. Over the long term a new funding strategy could be the key to freeing us to reestablish local control and set reasonable limits on airport use. It would irresponsible not to analyze the viability of alternative funding approaches used successfully elsewhere.

• Proposals to increase airport sustainability through solar installations on buildings and open land, the rapid adoption of unleaded and sustainable fuels, and safe and unobtrusive electric aviation. Critically, these proposals should help us achieve these ends without building additional facilities that could support increased operational capacity at the airport.

George Klein

Steering Committee Chairperson

Coalition to Prevent Westchester Airport Expansion

www.coalition-to-prevent-westchester-airport-expansion.org

For a vibrant but limited and environmentally responsible County airport governed by policies that prioritize public health and safety, the reservoir and environment, and our quality of life in Westchester and the surrounding region.