Citrus County aviation board to draft policy for non-aviation events after safety, FAA concerns

The Citrus County Aviation Advisory Board opened a discussion of a possible written policy for non-aviation events at county airports, agreeing to ask staff to draft bullet points for a formal policy after members, airport tenants and consultants raised safety, notification and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) concerns.

Todd Regan, Aviation Project Manager, described the current informal process: an event sponsor approaches airport staff, staff reviews insurance and liability, risk management signs off, and — depending on the scale and whether runway operations would be affected — the county or the FAA may need to be involved. "If what you're doing to the runway is it gonna affect, the airport, its operations, then then the FAA will have get involved," Regan said, adding that FAA review could lengthen lead time to as much as six months for events that affect runways or airspace.

Why it matters: closing a runway or permitting public access to airfield pavements affects aircraft operations, tenant businesses and public safety. Board members and public speakers urged a written policy so applicants understand lead times, insurance expectations and when higher-level approvals are required.

Board and public discussion focused on practical measures that a written policy should state. Regan and other speakers recommended: early notice to tenants and users, publication of NOTAMs (Notice to Air Missions), consideration of AWOS (automated weather observing system) broadcast messages, use of portable lighted X markers, and a clear lead time for FAA review on events that intrude into protected airspace. Regan said some events have been handled at staff level and that the FAA circular he shared with the board "sort of discourages that kind of use but they do provide for exceptions."

Speakers urged the policy balance safety with outreach. Barry Simons, president of EAA Chapter 1674, described an upcoming public fly-in and cookout and noted his group had obtained county insurance approvals for the event. Kyle Mansfield of Red Raider Aviation said non-aviation events can introduce community members to aviation and help grow local support, but cautioned against excessive red tape that would make events impractical. "I think a policy is a very smart thing to do. I think just putting making sure we don't put too much red tape in there to where nobody can ever, you know, get an event planned unless they've planned a year in advance," Mansfield said.

Infrastructure Consulting Engineering representative Daniel told the board that the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Aviation provides a standardized packet online for non-aeronautical special events and encouraged the county to use that as a baseline. He said FDOT's materials list the information applicants must provide about safety, NOTAMs and timing.

Board members discussed thresholds for approval: a level of events that staff can approve versus those that should be referred to the Board of County Commissioners, and the usefulness of a fillable application tied to the policy. One board member suggested a practical document that includes both the policy and a checkable application form so applicants can see whether an event will require FAA review or Board approval.

The board did not adopt a formal policy at the meeting. Chair (recorded as Chair) offered to draft an initial set of bullet points reflecting the discussion and asked staff to bring those back for board consideration at the next meeting. "Allow me to, ghost up a, not a policy document, but some bullet points from what I've just heard, alright? And then, we open this up next meeting to then see if we wanna take those bullet points and then craft them into language that says, okay, this is the policy we recommend to our county commissioners to to follow," the chair said.

Next steps: staff will prepare the bullet points and references (including the FAA circular and FDOT guidance) for the board to review at the next meeting. The board also discussed contacting airports such as Leesburg for lessons learned on mitigation and on procedures used when runways have been closed for events.

Ending: The board will revisit the draft bullet points at its next meeting; no formal vote was taken at this session.