Opposition to Gwinnett airport expansion gathers steam

"I don't want big planes flying over my house," Dobbins told County Commissioner Mike Beaudreau last weekend at his monthly meeting with constituents. "I really feel like you all are selling my quality of life."

Lawrenceville officials say sentiments like Dobbins' are percolating around town as Gwinnett County explores selling or leasing Briscoe Field to a private firm.

Last month the Federal Aviation Administration approved the county’s preliminary application for a federal program that could deliver the airport to private hands. At least one company is interested.

Advocates say the move could boost the local economy and provide a convenient alternative to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. And that means commercial traffic.

“It would be a huge sales tool for us if we were able to have commercial flights coming out of there, instead of having to go all the way down to Hartsfield-Jackson,” said Demming Bass, a vice president at the Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce.

Others fear noise, traffic congestion and declining real estate values near the airport. Lawrenceville City Councilman Mike Crow said the move would be “disastrous” for surrounding communities.

“We’re basically equating this to our oil spill, except this will be forever,” Crow said.

Lawrenceville officials are organizing a rally against airport expansion on Thursday. Next month the City Council will consider a resolution opposing the project.

Residents like Dobbins have begun to pay attention. Last Saturday she peppered Beaudreau with questions.

Beaudreau told her no decision has been made and asked her not to “jump to assumptions about things that might not happen.

“All I’m asking is that people stop shooting at each other, hold their fire, until we know what’s going on,” Beaudreau told Dobbins.

But the shooting has already begun.

Briscoe Field covers 500 acres northeast of Lawrenceville. Its lone 6,021-foot runway accommodates small aircraft, the largest of which seats up to 19 people.

Last November county officials said they were considering selling or leasing Briscoe Field.

Shortly afterward, New York-based Propeller Investments announced it wanted to install 10 gates, extend the runway by 500 feet and bring up to 20 commercial flights a day to Briscoe Field. The planes would be as large as Boeing 737s, which can accommodate 140 passengers.

In April Gwinnett County applied for a federal program that would allow it to privatize Briscoe Field. In May the FAA approved the preliminary application.

Gwinnett Communications Director Joe Sorenson said the county will study the environmental and financial ramifications as well as the potential impact on nearby residents and businesses. First, the county needs specific proposals to study, he said.

A timetable submitted to the FAA calls for the county to pick a private partner by December and to negotiate a contract by January.

Formal public comment would begin in January and continue through March, though Sorenson said the county is working on a plan to seek public input before January.

Under the timeline, Briscoe Field could be in private hands by next May. Sorenson called the timeline “very tentative.”

“If our experience is similar to other projects in the FAA privatization program, the negotiation process may take several years,” he said.

Several business and community groups want the county to study privatizing Briscoe Field.

The chamber of commerce’s Bass said an expanded airport could help Gwinnett County become a linchpin in a university life sciences research corridor stretching from Atlanta to the University of Georgia in Athens.

Others say privatization could free up the $1 million a year the county spends on the airport and prompt millions in private investment.

“I think that’s a good thing, no matter how you slice it,” said Stephen Lemelin, general manager of Georgia Jet at Briscoe Field.

Propeller Investments this spring commissioned a poll that showed nearly 85 percent of county voters think the county should sell the airport to a private operator.

Seventy percent of voters said they would be more likely to vote for a political candidate who supports privatizing the airport. And 69 percent said they favored allowing commercial flights.

Lawrenceville councilman Crow doesn’t think much of the poll. He thinks supporters are misleading the public with talk of “privatizing” Briscoe Field.

“Let’s call it what it is. It’s an expansion of the airport,” Crow said. “A poll will show anything someone wants it to, depending on how you ask the questions.”

Opponents say expanding the airport will mean more noise and declining property values in the airport’s flight paths.

“Look at Lawrenceville now and look at College Park (near Hartsfield-Jackson),” said Lawrenceville Mayor Rex Millsaps. “Which one do you want to be?”

It’s not the first time local residents have raised such concerns.

In 1991 the county airport authority scrapped plans to study commercial air service at Briscoe Field after local residents objected.

Three years later the state announced plans to install up to 33 gates to accommodate overflow traffic from Hartsfield-Jackson. Hundreds of opponents called public officials and thousands more packed public hearings.

Then-Gov. Zell Miller rejected the expansion plan.

The 1994 expansion plan was much bigger than what is now being proposed for Briscoe Field. Expansion supporters say Briscoe could never become another Hartsfield-Jackson.

But critics are suspicious.

“If you think they’re going to stop at 10 gates, that ain’t going to happen,” said Vinson Wall, a former state legislator from Lawrenceville.

Lawrenceville officials are organizing a protest against airport expansion at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday at the city’s historic courthouse. On July 19, the City Council will consider a resolution opposing the expansion. Crow expects it to pass unanimously.

Brett Smith, Propeller Investments’ managing director, said he was disappointed to hear Lawrenceville officials were against privatizing the airport.

“There are some people who want to be against this because they want to be against this,” Smith said. “But the majority of people in the county want this and the town of Lawrenceville wants this.”

Gwinnett County officials say the fuss is premature.

“There are lots of people out there who want to see what the value (of privatizing) is,” county commission Chairman Charles Bannister said. “We would fail our constituents if we didn’t go through the process.”

Proposed timeline to privatize Gwinnett County’s Briscoe Field. County officials say the timeline is tentative and negotiations could take years.

May 2010 Federal Aviation Administration approves preliminary application

June 2010 County requests statements of qualification from private parties interested in buying or leasing the airport

September 2010 County picks a short list of interested parties

October 2010 County requests specific proposals from the short list of qualified parties

December 2010 County picks its preferred buyer/leaser

January 2011 County negotiates a final agreement with buyer/leaser and submits final application to the FAA. Public comment on the proposal begins and continues through March

April 2011 Final FAA approval

May 2011 Airport turned over to private party