Graham County planning commissioners back private airstrip for Kilburg Canyon property

The Graham County Planning and Zoning Commission on Wednesday recommended approval of Special Use Permit SUP 25-03, allowing Larry Wilson to establish a private airstrip on a 161-acre parcel at 42427 West Kilburg Creek Road in Kilburg Canyon.

The permit would authorize a roughly 1,200-foot runway on Wilson’s property in the southwest corner of rural Graham County, near the Gallero Mountain range and about 1 mile east of Pinal County. Wilson told commissioners he is the only intended user and described safety and regulatory controls that apply to private pilots and aircraft maintenance. “It’s only 1,200 feet long,” Wilson said, explaining the runway is constrained by terrain and that extending it further would require using a neighbor’s land.

Neighbors and opposition: why it mattered

Wilson acknowledged a written objection from his immediate neighbor, Danny Carrasco, who operates a cattle ranch directly west of the proposed runway. Commissioners discussed potential effects on livestock and on people traveling on nearby private ranch roads; one commissioner noted aircraft and helicopters regularly pass over local ranches and said livestock typically adapt. Wilson said the departure path would pass over Carrasco’s stock tank area and corral and estimated that, once airborne, the aircraft would climb to “probably somewhere between 500–1,000 feet” above the neighbor’s property.

Wilson also explained he has sought an identifying number from the Federal Aviation Administration and emphasized that FAA review of the site is limited to identifying hazards; “All they do is, they look at your proposal and check for factors in the area that might be adverse,” he said, and that the FAA identifier “is in no way any sort of a permission or… easement.”

Commission discussion and conditions

Commissioners pressed Wilson on hangar and house plans. Wilson said a steel storage building on-site would initially store building materials for a house he plans to construct and later serve as a hangar. Commissioners noted the site is in a rugged canyon with few nearby habitable structures and discussed noise and safety trade-offs; one commissioner described rural airstrips as lifelines in emergencies. No formal permit conditions were read into the record during the commission’s discussion.

Vote and next steps

A commissioner moved a “positive” recommendation and another seconded. After brief discussion, the motion carried by voice vote. The commission noted that items heard at today’s public hearing will be forwarded to the Graham County Board of Supervisors; the commission announced the supervisors’ meeting on Monday, Sept. 2 at 8:00 a.m. for final action on items heard today.

Clarifying details from the record

- Parcel/address: 161 acres at 42427 West Kilburg Creek Road, Kilburg Canyon (north half of Section 17, T10S, R19E). - Proposed runway length: 1,200 feet (applicant stated constraint due to terrain). - Nearby land/use: neighbor Danny Carrasco operates a cattle operation immediately west; Carrasco’s stock tank and corral are within the departure corridor and were described by the applicant as roughly three-quarters of a mile from the runway’s departure end. - FAA: applicant obtained an FAA identifier; applicant and commissioners said FAA review does not create an easement or federal right to use neighboring land. - Improvements: applicant described an eventual steel building to serve as a hangar and storage; house pad and septic installed but house walls not yet built.

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