Airport relief, halfway

During their meeting with Stuart city commissioners on Saturday, Martin County commissioners almost got it right.

They voted to accept a $2.3 million Federal Aviation Administration grant to buy homes harmed by airport noise and jet fumes in Stuart's 18th Street neighborhood. Those who have suffered since the county allowed a 460-foot runway extension without considering its impact on those homes deserve relief.

But then commissioners voted 3-2 not to talk about removing the runway extension or moving the "crash zone" to Martin County Airport property. Commissioners Lee Weberman, Michael DiTerlizzi and Doug Smith, who also vote consistently for fewer controls on growth, opposed the discussion.

The meeting revealed several airport concerns. Stuart commissioners want the properties the county buys to be converted to green space and preserved, and several Stuart residents worried that the lots might invite blight to the neighborhood after homes are demolished. Witham Airport Action Majority, an activist group that opposes airport growth, complains that Stuart wasn't consulted when the county applied for the federal money to buy the houses.

WAAM spokesmen also said that because the county can't change the residential zoning on property it buys in Stuart, the county can't meet terms of the grant. The group has asked the FAA to rescind its offer. The county needs to be certain that accepting the grant will not prohibit it from removing homes and leaving lots vacant as parks or that the FAA can't require airport-related buildings on lots.

Several speakers also asked about the liability both the city and county could face from an accident if the 18th Street neighborhood remains in the "crash zone," also known as the runway protection zone. That's a reasonable concern the county still has not addressed. The FAA warned the county not to include either the residential neighborhood or the YMCA soccer fields in an area so close to the end of the runway extension. A recent WAAM report alleges that a map that did not show the homes fooled both the FAA and county commissioners, who approved the extension in 1998. That was not the fault of this commission, but it does raise questions about the county's -- and thus, taxpayers' -- liability if a plane goes down in the crash zone.

Also, airport Director Michael Moon, who was on the county staff when the commission voted to extend the runway, won't answer questions about it. Now, Martin's commission majority won't even discuss the matter. Residents -- and Stuart commissioners concerned about the city's liability --should demand that they do so.