Hearing set on Sisters airport listing

The Oregon Department of Aviation will hold a public hearing regarding Sisters Eagle Airport's request to be added to the State of Oregon's listing of significant airports on Wednesday, February 8, at 6 p.m. in the Sisters High School Lecture Room. Sisters High School is located at 1700 McKinney Butte Rd.

ODA will add an airport to the State's Aviation Plan, Appendix M, Privately Owned Public-Use Airports if it meets the criteria described in the statute ORS 836.610(1b):

1. Provides important links in air traffic in the state;

2. Provides essential safety or emergency services; or

3. Are of economic importance to the county where the airport is located.

The airport apparently qualified for such listing years ago, but the original owners did not complete the process for listing.

The potential listing was an issue of interest to many in the community in large part due to questions as to whether the boundary of Sisters Eagle Airport could be expanded as part of the listing process. That question has already been put to rest.

Last month, the ODA, acting on an opinion from the Oregon Department of Justice, determined that setting the boundary is a matter for local jurisdictions (city and/or county), and ODA will only make a determination on listing of the airport.

According to the City of Sisters, the boundary remains what it is currently and any change would require an extensive land-use process involving public hearings.

"The land that is currently zoned airport is the boundary, period," City of Sisters Community Development Director Patrick Davenport told The Nugget at the

time.

According to a statement from Sisters Eagle Airport, "the purpose and benefit of being added to the State Aviation Plan Appendix M is the airport will be eligible to receive funding for the maintenance and repairs to the public transportation infrastructure (runway, taxiways, safety areas). Being added to the listing does not change the zoning or ownership of the airport property, or the uses or activities already allowed at the airport."

The hearing will only pertain to the listing of the airport.

The deadline for written comments is Tuesday, February 7, at 5 p.m. Comments may be made to Jeff Caines, Aviation Planner, Oregon Dept. of Aviation, 3040 25th St. S.E., Salem, OR 97302; email: [email protected]; Fax: 503-373-1688. For more information contact Jeff Caines, aviation planner, at 503-378-2529. More details on the Sisters Eagle Airport request are available at http://www.oregon.gov/aviation.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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