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Doña Ana County airport manager previews master plan and outreach to Sunland Park council
Summary
Doña Ana County International Airport manager Joe Young told the Sunland Park council the airport is beginning an update to its master plan — the process will include public outreach, technical studies and measures to support cargo operations, a potential crosswind runway and land‑use protections.
Doña Ana County International Airport manager Joe Young briefed the Sunland Park City Council on Jan. 7 about the airport’s newly kicked‑off master‑plan update, outlining the process, schedule and areas of community involvement.
Young said the airport’s last master plan was published in 2018 and that changes in aviation activity, FAA standards and local socioeconomic trends prompted the update. The review will include an inventory of existing facilities, an aviation demand forecast, development alternatives (including a possible crosswind runway) and an airport layout plan needed to secure future FAA funding.
Young described current facilities: about 1,700 acres of airport property, a single main runway recently widened from 100 to 150 feet, roughly 197 based aircraft (most single‑engine) and more than 32,000 annual operations in the last year, including medevac and military training flights. He emphasized the airport is pursuing cargo capability rather than scheduled commercial passenger service and noted a need to protect the airport influence area through cooperative off‑airport land‑use planning.
The master‑plan process will rely on a planning and advisory committee (a “pack”), state and FAA contacts, subconsultants with airport planning experience and public outreach. Young said the project team has launched a public survey (open through Friday in the transcript), plans additional open‑house events and anticipates the next pack meeting in March; chapters of the plan (inventory, forecast) were expected to be available to review later in the month.
"We want to preserve a vital regional asset and work with our communities on land‑use and noise issues," Young said, describing outreach and the airport influence area that the FAA and state aviation division use to recommend height and land‑use controls.
Speakers and next steps
- Joe Young, Doña Ana County International Airport manager, was the primary presenter. - The airport will post draft chapters and hold additional community meetings; staff advised council members and the public how to access the survey and follow the process.
Sunland Park councilors heard the presentation as background information; no action was required from the city at the meeting.
