Update, Thursday, 10:12 a.m.: The Ada County Commissioners have tabled the issue after hearing three hours of public testimony. According to a press release, 16 people testified in favor of the airstrip and 15 testified against it Wednesday night.
Original post:
Ada County Commissioners are likely to get an earful Wednesday about a proposed airstrip in the Boise foothills. Hobby pilot Dean Hilde will defend his proposal to create an airstrip in the Boise foothills at a commissioner meeting at 6:00 p.m.
Hilde lives in the Wildhorse subdivision north of Table Rock. For the last several years, he’s taken off and landed his small plane on his 40 acres. But when he applied to build a hangar, he was surprised to learn he wasn't supposed to use the land as an airstrip.
“We’ve got dirt bikes, ATVs, snow machines, drones, hot air balloons," says Hilde. "Why couldn’t I land in my own property?”
But Boise city officials oppose the airstrip out of fear of fire and risk to nearby homes.
“The probability of a plane crashing or starting a fire is low," says Boise Fire Chief Dennis Doan. "But the catastrophic risk if it happens? Is hundreds and hundreds of people’s homes and lives. Big difference between that and a backcountry airstrip.”
Doan says when the Wildhorse subdivision was built in 2006, the developer didn’t add in proper fire prevention measures such as an adequate water supply and wide enough roads. So when he heard the county’s planning and zoning committee approved Hilde’s proposal in May, he was incredulous.
“So this is crazy that they’re going to allow an airstrip outside of a fire protection area and nobody to fight this fire if a problem occurs.”
Doan plans to testify at Wednesday’s Ada County Commissioners meeting that the city will not respond to a fire from the proposed airstrip.
But to Hilde, Doan’s concerns are over-stated.
“I’ve been in aviation my whole life. I have never seen or heard of a fire caused by normal operations of an airplane.”
Find reporter Frankie Barnhill on Twitter @FABarnhill
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