Long-Simmering Dispute Over Runways At Jacksonville's Craig Field

Two FBO's at Craig Field (KCRG) in Jacksonville, FL have filed suit in federal court hoping to force the city to lengthen at least one runway at the airport to 5,600 feet, a move that has been repeatedly blocked by the Jacksonville City Council.

The former military field currently has two runways that are each 4,000 feet, and the owners of Sky Harbor and Craig Air Center contend that they do not meet minimum federal safety guidelines. Those rules say that an airport's main runway needs to be at least 5,000 feet long to meet minimum safety requirements. The Jacksonville Airport Authority's master plan for the facility has long called for one runway to be extended to 5,600 feet, but a vocal group of homeowners has successfully blocked the move each time it has come before the city council. The homeowners say extending the runway will allow for larger, noisier jets to use the airport, and will increase the number of airport operations. They also say they have been promised for years by city leaders that the runway will not be lengthened.

The Florida Times-Union reports that both Mayor John Peyton and the Airport Authority Board favor the extension, but new Airport Authority Executive Director Steven Grossman said he wants to meet with businesses and residents in an effort to better understand the situation.

City Councilman Bill Bishop told the paper he thinks the safety issue is a "red herring." He contends that the only reason the FBO's are suing to have the runways lengthened is to allow more and larger planes to use the runway, which will increase their business.

The lawsuit seeks to have a federal court throw out the part of the city's comprehensive plan that limits the runway to 4,000 feet, saying the federal guidelines supersede the local code.

FMI: www.coj.net, www.jaa.aero