Witham should accept FAA money, then shorten runway extension

Martin County has the opportunity to have it both ways today when commissioners consider whether to accept a $2.4 million Federal Aviation Administration grant to buy nine homes in the "crash zone" close to a Witham Field runway.

Commissioners should take the money and buy the homes most affected by extension of the runway close to the 18th Street neighborhood, which has been so devastated by jet noise and fumes. Then the commission should shorten the runway, which would provide relief for others -- not only in that neighborhood but throughout the area west of the airport.

Witham Airport Action Majority opposes accepting any FAA money, contending that the county made the bad decision to lengthen the runway on its own, without FAA approval, and that the county should pay to buy the homes in the runway's path. But the FAA's willingness to provide money for the buyout shows that it recognizes the problem. Homeowners are running out of options. Martin County Circuit Judge Robert Makemson recently ruled against 20 airport neighbors who wanted the county to reimburse them for property values they claim have dropped because their land is near the runway.

More than nine homes in the neighborhood are affected by proximity to the runway. Closing the $500,000, 460-foot asphalt strip that the county added to the runway would provide relief for a wide area. A WAAM report released recently charges that the runway was extended illegally, because the runway protection zone -- also known as the "crash zone" -- was extended illegally. The report also claims that airport managers fooled county commissioners and FAA officials by including a map that did not show homes in the 18th Street neighborhood closest to the runway.

Airport Director Michael Moon, who was on the county staff when the extension was being planned, did not return a Post reporter's repeated phone calls to discuss the WAAM report. He asked for written questions but would not even confirm that he had received them. While Mr. Moon may be unresponsive because of the lawsuit, he is the county's institutional memory on airport expansion. He should be available to answer questions. Anything else makes it appear that the county has something to hide.

Unless Mr. Moon has reasons not yet revealed, the county should take the FAA money -- and then bulldoze the runway extension.