OLIVE BRANCH, Miss. (AP) - A developer that wants to build south of the Olive Branch airport is threatening to sue the city.
The airport and Federal Aviation Administration oppose McNeill CRE’s plans for a 36-foot-high, 660,000-square-foot building, The Commercial Appeal https://bit.ly/1bC546U) reported.
The FAA says it would be a hazard to navigation. That doesn’t have the force of law and the FAA could not bar the project, city attorney Brian Dye said.
The FAA did not object to another building about the same height southeast of the airport. The McNeill site is directly south of the airport.
The airport runway has undergone three to four extensions in its history. Owned by privately by Belz Enterprises, the airport is one of the busiest in Mississippi, with 70,000 take offs and landings in 2013, compared to 50,000 at Jackson’s.
Airport officials contend that the proposed building would be a safety hazard and could get in the way of plans to extend the 6,000-foot-long runway at some undetermined date.
The city Planning Commission voted 6-0 last week to recommend repealing a height limitation for buildings near the airport.
McNeill’s attorney, Barry Ward, told commissioners McNeill might bring a “reverse condemnation suit” contending that property owners are unfairly kept from using their land.
The Board of Aldermen is expected to review the matter March 18.
Dye said the city staff considers the ordinance, adopted in 1983 before the airport was within the city limits, to be outdated, vague and confusing and therefore not one that state law would support.
Bill Bradley, an attorney representing airport owners, responded, “This is an ordinance used nationwide. It is a model.”
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Information from: The Commercial Appeal, https://www.commercialappeal.com
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