Local government thinks it can set minimum flyover altitudes over city

Residents and city council members of Salt Lake City are up in arms over a proposed ordinance that would prohibit flights over the city below 2,000 feet AGL.

For some reason, a city council panel thinks that it has the authority to override federal jurisdiction over the nation's airspace by establishing rules to govern aircraft flights over their city. The residents, however, are more worried about what effect the new ordinance may have on... Santa Claus.

Apparently the city already has an ordinance in place that mandates minimum altitudes for aircraft flying over the city, but it appears that it has never been enforced. Santa Claus, however, was always granted a waiver so he could make his deliveries on Christmas Eve with his reindeer-powered sled. It seems the waiver is not going to be granted anymore, and residents are not happy about that.

Tim Campbell, executive director of the Department of Airports, said the city council panel is not manned by scrooges. "We were updating the ordinance and this provision had not been looked at for a number of years," Campbell said to the Associated Press on Friday. "Members of the panel felt it was just not appropriate," said Campbell. He supports the Santa waiver.

Some members of the Salt Lake City Council proper are not exactly amused with the issue. "I have a 4-year-old who still believes in Santa Claus," said Councilman Carlton Christensen. A vote on the ordinance is expected next month.

However, the entire issue may be moot, once the Council finds out that the city does not have the authority to regulate the airspace above the city -- an authority that only the federal government wields, through the Federal Aviation Administration.

FMI: www.ci.slc.ut.us/council