An asphalt plant would have to be demolished to make way for a longer runway if Carroll County commissioners adopt the airport proposal recommended to them Tuesday.
The county would have to buy the Westminster asphalt plant owned by C.J. Miller, a Hampstead-based construction company, if commissioners take the advice of Carroll County Regional Airport?s Technical Advisory Committee, a group charged with updating the airport?s master plan. The Federal Aviation Administration requires airports to update their master plans every 20 years.
The committee recommended that the airport?s runway be extended from 5,100 feet to 6,400 feet and relocated 250 feet to the west and 600 feet to the north to create an adequate buffer between the runway and new hangars, said Michael Waibel, a senior airport planner with URS, a consulting firm.
Residents living around the airport oppose the expansion, citing noise, pollution and devaluation of property values.
Businesses wishing to fly corporate jets from the Westminster airport are fueling the demand to extend the runway, which would increase operations ? defined as either a landing or takeoff ? from 360 to 650 a day, TAC member Gary Horst said.
The upgrade also includes an instrument landing system, which guides approaching aircraft.
“It?s kind of unusual” that an airport of this size doesn?t have one, Waibel said.
The Federal Aviation Administration will pay for 95 percent of the estimated $56 million project, with the Maryland Aviation Administration and airport users splitting the rest.
A public hearing will occur this month before a draft plan is submitted to the FAA.
C.J. Miller III, vice president of C.J. Miller, could not immediately be reached for comment.
