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Commission hears airport master‑plan update; neighbors raise environmental‑justice and noise concerns
Summary
Staff briefed the commission on the airport master plan and Acting Airport Manager Jimmy Gunn announced a July 21 public meeting on a Highway 599 extension; commissioners and residents pressed for community‑specific mitigation for noise, flight routing and PFAS and asked for an accessible executive summary of the master‑plan materials.
Herbert, staff lead on the airport advisory committee, updated the Board on the airport master plan process and said the county is midway through inventory and demand forecasts; recommended alternatives, financial analysis and the plan itself remain to be drafted.
Acting Airport Manager Jimmy Gunn encouraged attendance at a July 21 public meeting at the Southside Public Library on a proposed extension from Highway 599 to the airport and said the master plan is used to justify grant funding and capital improvement program requests.
Multiple commissioners and residents raised environmental‑justice concerns for La Cienega and La Cieneguilla, saying recent low‑altitude flights, noise and legacy PFAS issues have placed disproportionate burdens on those communities. Commissioner Camilla Bustamante urged the airport team to explicitly include La Cienega communities on maps and to study routing and takeoff procedures to reduce neighborhood impacts. "Put them in the map. There are people there," she said.
Commissioners asked for a short, public‑friendly executive summary of the 130‑page master‑plan materials, asked staff to present likely near‑term investments and grants, and requested follow‑up briefings with additional detail and data on routing, noise mitigation and potential community benefits or reparations. Gunn agreed to return with more detailed presentations and encouraged attendance at the upcoming public workshop.
