Draft Truckee Airport Master Plan Slated For May Release

Apr 08, 2014

TRUCKEE, Calif. — A draft plan for Truckee Tahoe Airport District’s future is making its final approach.

After a yearlong process, a completed plan should be released next month for public comment, with a final version ready as early as December, said Kevin Smith, airport district general manager.

“Even with that, we’re already using a lot of the information we’ve learned, particularly from the community on things that they’re wanting us to work on and do,” he said.

One of those items is a multi-use hangar that can house and de-ice aircraft for a fee, while serving as space for community events.

In a scientific poll conducted by Godbe Research last summer, 76 percent of 500 residents surveyed supported a multi-user hangar.

Potential facility impacts, locations and sizes, among others are being examined, Smith said. Due to the tail height of some business jets, the hangar could be 40-plus feet tall.

“We’re going to make it as short as possible,” Smith said. “We don’t want it to be tall, but we need it to be able to accommodate the tail height of the traffic that we have right now.”

As early as this month, the airport board of directors could approve the design process to start. Once complete, they would vote whether to bid the project.

Other options include:

Extending the approach end of runway 2/20 by about 500 feet to enhance safety and encourage more use, as a way to mitigate noise annoyance along the heavily used runway 22/29 end.

Allowing trail construction on appropriate airport land.

Continuing open space acquisition to prevent development that is incompatible with the airport.

Constructing an emergency service helipad on the Tahoe City Golf Course, which the district partnered with Tahoe City Public Utility District, North Lake Tahoe Resort Association and Placer County to purchase in 2012 for $4.7 million.

“Our biggest thing is we really feel it’s a community focused master plan, and we really have tried to make (it) mirror the community it serves,” Smith said. “It’s our vision of the airport as a community.”

The lifespan of an airport master plan is between 10 and 15 years, with the current plan created in 1998. This new plan is intended to guide the airport district until 2025, with periodic updates done every three to five years to ensure its relevance.

To learn more, visit www.ttadmasterplan.org.

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