The following announcement has been sent out to individuals on the the Truckee Tahoe Airport District Board of Directors email list.
Public Workshop on Proposed Multi-Use Hangar Building This Wednesday, November 5th, 6-8pm
Please come to the public workshop on November 5th from 6-8pm to share you ideas on ways the Airport can make this proposed hangar building both useful to pilots and the local community.
Click here to learn more about the proposed multi-use hangar building project.
Can’t make the meeting but would like to submit a comment?
Click here to submit a comment about use idea for the multi-use hangar project.
The airport’s website has a professionally-designed promotional flyer boasting the benefits of the proposed business jet hangar to the community (it is not called a jet hangar, but a multipurpose hangar, in airport documents), but it fails to mention increasing jet traffic and jet noise over Truckee or any negative impact on the environment and the quality of life of Truckee Tahoe residents and visitors to the area.
An informed public debate requires full transparency about any public policy issue, especially when tax money is being used and the quality of life of local residents and the environment will be affected by its outcome. The community has not been informed in any substantive way about already occurring increased jet use of the Truckee Tahoe Airport and industry predictions of vast growth in the use of business jets and jet taxis in the next few decades. Without such critical information and material facts being provided to the community, any public outreach and any public debate are not conducted with full transparency and well-informed decisions are not likely to be made.
Business jets flying to ecologically fragile areas such as Truckee Tahoe are one of the most environmentally unfriendly forms of tourist travel. But according to a news item on the Truckee Tahoe Airport District website, “LOCAL JET TRAFFIC GIVES BACK THRU GREEN BUCKS PROGRAM,” local environmental groups are apparently to benefit from any increased jet fuel sales at the airport tied to any future increase in jet traffic to the Truckee Tahoe area, and consequently increased jet noise and air pollution. The news item does not make it clear who has proposed this particular “Green Buck donation” tied to jet fuel sales, which was approved by the Truckee Tahoe Airport District Board of Directors, or why a donation to environmental groups structured to increase with increased jet traffic, was proposed at this time.
According to the information on the website, “GIVING BACK – OPEN SPACE,” the airport uses its tax subsidies to improve the environment, which — as we point out — is being negatively impacted by increasing air traffic, particularly jets.
“The Truckee Tahoe Airport District Open Space Program offers benefits on many levels. First, by securing open space around the District, we remove the future impacts that the Airport may have had on developments. Secondly, the 1,600 acres of preserved open space that we have established so far is a wonderful recreational and scenic benefit for the community. And lastly, our open space programs are good for the environment including water quality, air quality and habitat preservation.”
The Truckee Tahoe Airport mission statement declares that it is “a community airport that provides high-quality aviation facilities and services to meet local needs. We strive for low impact on our neighbors while enhancing the benefit to the community-at-large.”
The Truckee Tahoe Airport District gets approximately $4.3 million in property tax revenue per year from district residents.
The Truckee Tahoe Airport District touts safety and economic benefits of the airport, but without specifically addressing the cost-benefit ratio of increasing jet traffic as opposed to promoting responsible ecotourism using nearby commercial airports (100 to 200 potential tourists per a commercial plane flying to a much less ecologically threatened area instead of one to ten passengers flying a business jet or a jet taxi to the Truckee Tahoe Airport).
There has also been no substantive discussion so far as to whether the community needs to spend local taxpayers’ money on another large meeting / banquet hall space at the airport rather than on a new library or a new school and whether the Truckee Tahoe Airport District Board of Directors is best qualified among local elected representatives to make such social policy decisions.
Here is how the Truckee Tahoe Airport District explains some of the benefits of the airport:
“…local Airport is a vital transportation link for residents, visitors, and businesses, and provides critical air access for emergency and government services. Truckee Tahoe Airport is a measure of our community’s prosperity and wellbeing, and continues to be an integral part of its bright future. “
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