Peoria staff say air‑park feasible but council will not pursue; technical, land and cost hurdles cited

Peoria Deputy City Manager Mike Faust told the City Council on Jan. 14 that a recent feasibility and site‑selection study shows a new general‑aviation air park in north Peoria would be technically feasible but that the city will not pursue or market an airport at this time.

The report, prepared by Kaufman Associates and summarized to the council by Patrick Taylor, found regional demand, FAA‑design compatibility and the potential to fill a northwest “gap” in the Phoenix area airport system. But the study also identified major constraints — including very large land requirements, transmission lines that cross proposed runways, airspace coordination with Luke Air Force Base and substantial cost. Faust said those barriers and the changing economic context led staff to stop active pursuit of an airport and instead focus on the intergovernmental agreement with the State Land Department and other economic‑development efforts.

The feasibility work combined three elements: a market/demand forecast, airport facility requirements, and a development‑process feasibility analysis. Kaufman’s site‑selection GIS model screened the city’s northern planning area and produced two candidate sites near the former Pleasant Valley Airport. For each site the consultant developed a prototype airport layout and ranked…