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Battle over island airport runway length heats up again today

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The airport is about to start making a lot more noise on Hilton Head Island.

Debate picks up at Town Hall again today on a controversial proposal to change the zoning of the Hilton Head Island Airport to lock in the runway at its current length. Any major alterations to the runway would require a zoning change that would go through several rounds of public hearings and town review.

Town Council members say the zoning change gives local leaders a say in the airport's future. Currently, the county-owned airport could expand without consulting the town first or requiring any special approvals.

The town has also cited safety reasons.

"The airport is close to both residential and commercial areas and there is concern that lengthening the runway would exacerbate the safety concerns that Town Council already has regarding the location of the airport and its associated flight paths," town planner Heather Colin wrote in a memo to the Planning Commission.

County aviation officials oppose the measure, saying it could rob the airport of flexibility should major changes occur, such as the loss of commercial service or disaster recovery needs.

The group Citizens to Protect the Hilton Head Island Airport has been rallying its members to pack council chambers today. It'slarge ad in Tuesday's Island Packet that called the meeting "extremely important."

The group says the zoning change could lead to the airport's closing and it urges the town to hold off until a feasibility study about the airport's future is completed.

The issue is being pushed by Mayor Tom Peeples as a way to make sure the town will always have a voice in the airport's future. Early this summer, the county and town looked as if they would reach an agreement that would have declared that no major changes could be made at the airport without either side's approval.

But in September, Peeples said the town would be better protected with the zoning change. Today's meeting is the first step in the process. A zoning change would eventually require council approval.

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