City Of Lawrence, KS, Says It Can "Set Reasonable Rules And Regulations"

The city of Lawrence, KS, is continuing to fight local businessman William McCauley over the use of Lawrence Municipal Airport (KLWC) as a landing zone for skydiving operations.

File Photo

The city had hired consultants which advised them that, while they did have to accommodate "legitimate aviation activities" at the airport, it had the right to set "reasonable rules and regulations" for those activities.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports that the consultant told city officials that having a skydiver land about once a month at the airport might be feasible, but more regular use of the airport for skydiving would be "challenging." The city holds that any place a skydiver could land would be close to a runway, requiring notification of pilots during times when skydiving was occurring. The absence of a control tower would make that difficult, city officials have said.

Businessman William McCauley, who according to his LinkedIn profile is a professional photographer specializing in freefall photography and videos as well as being a skydiving instructor, has filed a complaint against the city with the FAA. He contends that because the city has accepted millions in AIP and other grants for the airport, it may not discriminate in any way against "legitimate uses" of the facility. He told the paper that communication is a non-issue, because Kansas City Center would provide at least four warnings to pilots in the area prior to any jump, and pilots are required to monitor that center frequency. McCauley says there is no legitimate safety reason to deny use of the airport as an LZ.

The matter is pending before the FAA, which has given no indication as to when it might rule on the issue.

FMI: www.faa.gov, www.ci.lawrence.ks.us