Todd Leek, a resident who described himself as living under the practice operations area for Gorman Field, told the Grand Forks County Commission that the Federal Aviation Administration has reviewed a public proposal by the UND Aerospace Foundation and determined the proposal meets the FAA’s definition of an airport.

“Right now...with putting runways in, it becomes an airport. That's just how the FAA's definitions work. That's what they determined,” Leek said during public comment, describing FAA field-office correspondence. He said the finding triggers FAA Form 7480-1 and a landing area plan, and requires review by the FAA airspace office for any objection to proposed use of airspace.

Leek said the FAA will contact the project proponent — the UND Aerospace Foundation — and that airspace objections, if any, would be routed back through the airport office to the proponent. He characterized the airspace over the site as “pretty tight” and said a determination from the FAA airport office would be required before any construction.

Leek said he had discussed the FAA correspondence with Dean Krause of UND Aerospace and offered to provide the commission with copies of FAA emails and documents. He emphasized that prior to the runway proposal the site had been designated by the FAA as an educational training area and that the runway plans changed that designation in the FAA’s view.

No formal county action on the airport matter was recorded in the meeting minutes; Leek presented the FAA correspondence as public comment and asked the commission and the UND Aerospace Foundation to note the FAA’s process and timing.