Hailey to start land zoning plans in anticipation of airport departure

Hailey to make zoning rules for airport land

HAILEY, Idaho — Officials in this central Idaho town are beginning the process of deciding how to develop 210 acres that will become available once Friedman Memorial Airport moves to a new location.

Planning is scheduled to begin next week with the goal of producing a master plan that will include zoning designations. Work is expected to be finished by February.

“Every component is meshing now,” City Councilwoman Martha Burke said at a council meeting earlier this week.

Burke said she spoke with Federal Aviation Administration officials recently and zoning for the property will be a public process among Hailey residents, the Idaho Mountain Express reported.

The FAA says the airport needs to be moved out of the city of Hailey due to safety concerns. Officials with the agency said the ridgelines that surround Friedman Memorial Airport mean aircraft that abort landings can’t meet FAA standards of 2,000 feet above the highest terrain as they climb to higher airspace to make another approach.

The airport is located about 12 miles south of the resort mountain towns of Ketchum and Sun Valley. A replacement airport site has tentatively been proposed in southern Blaine County.

Money from the sale of the property in Hailey will be used to pay for the replacement airport. About 130 acres of the airport is owned by Blaine County and Hailey. Another 80 acres will revert to the heirs of the Friedman family.

City Attorney Ned Williamson said there’s a possible conflict between the FAA’s desire to get the most money from selling the land, and the city’s goal of developing the land in accordance with the city’s comprehensive plan.

Burke said the city’s zoning ordinances would not permit big-box stores such as Walmart or Target.

Information from: Idaho Mountain Express, www.mtexpress.com