Airport board approves relocation of private storage garage pending planning sign-off

The Grand County Airport Board voted to allow a privately owned storage garage to be relocated into a parking-lot area, so long as the planning department signs off on site-specific permits and drainage plans.

Board members resumed a motion that had been tabled earlier. Staff explained the move would require a drainage plan, environmental/FAA airspace clearance and a 7460 filing; staff said those items are standard for land-side construction. Engineering staff also said soil tests were already done nearby and that existing subsurface data likely covers the proposed site.

Discussion focused on a lease clause governing relocations. The board emphasized that current leases require owners to pay to move buildings for anything other than surface parking; members asked staff to preserve that caveat in future agreements. One board member noted, however, that the minutes appeared to allow the county to move buildings for reasons tied to service parking and requested language clarification before the final lease is executed.

Engineer Eric Trinklein reassured the board that testing had previously been done near the proposed spot and said, "we probably have the information we need" to evaluate soils for the new location. Staff said a new FAA 7460 airspace filing will be submitted for the adjusted site but that because the change is within roughly 50 feet of the previously cleared location, no FAA conflict is expected.

The motion to approve the relocation as submitted, contingent on planning-department approval and preserving the lease caveat, passed by unanimous voice vote. Staff will return a clean packet for the next meeting and confirm any remaining lease or drainage language.

Next steps: staff will file the required FAA forms, ensure a drainage plan is included with the planning application and return the finalized lease language and a clean packet for board review.