AOPA requests FAA to reject proposal that would put school near airport

AOPA requests FAA to reject proposal that would put school near airport

City officials in Shawnee, Oklahoma, are taking steps to build an early childhood development center across the road from Shawnee Regional Airport. That land is currently airport property, so building a center there would be incompatible land use and is prohibited by FAA regulations. However, the airport sponsor is selling the land, which could then be used to build the development center. "AOPA is strongly opposed to locating schools near airports and encourages airport sponsors to build schools no less than two miles from airports," wrote AOPA in a letter to the FAA Southwest Region Airports Division. "Even if the land is not airport property, building in that same area will still create an incompatible land-use situation." AOPA requested that the FAA deny the property release until the city proposes a more compatible land-use development option.

December 22, 2005