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Resident urges officials to remove 23‑acre buffer from airport development plans
Summary
A longtime resident told the joint Martin County meeting that prior noise studies and a past runway extension were flawed and urged officials to take a 23‑acre buffer off the table for airport expansion, asking leaders to protect nearby neighborhoods.
Frank McChrystal spoke during public comment about concerns that airport development plans now put a previously preserved 23‑acre buffer at risk.
"Previous Martin County commissions have stated that those 23 acres of buffer would never be on the table. And now just like that, it's on the table," McChrystal said, arguing that earlier noise‑contour studies and a 1998 runway extension were wrongly handled and that the FAA later identified problems with runway protection zones.
McChrystal cited on‑the‑ground observations and personal experience with noise and aircraft operations and urged county leaders to remove the buffer land from consideration for development that could expose neighborhoods to increased noise and safety risk. The speaker also characterized original noise‑contour studies as "probably 40% wrong." No county official offered a technical rebuttal during the public comment period; the item drew expressions of concern from commissioners but no formal action was taken at the meeting.
Next steps: the comment was recorded in public comment; county staff and commissioners may consider the issue in future planning or airport‑advisory conversations but no formal motion or vote followed this meeting.
