1.
We propose that a New Jersey Aviation Commission or Department of
Aviation be created as a separate entity from the NJ Department of
Transportation. Remove the administration of aviation from an
unresponsive political bureaucracy. Forming an independent State
aviation authority is not unprecedented. Most states have gone to
independent aviation administration structures. Aviation should be
run by aviation professionals or at least by advocates who understand
the critical need to promote aviation and preserve public airports.
After
Jessica DuBrow was killed, Congress took aviation promotion away
from FAA - the States MUST do it. Presently NJDOT has no incentive or
reason to advocate for aviation. A “mass transit” mentality
cannot begin to understand the freedom or possibilities of general
aviation which, by its very nature, serves an elite. That elite is
composed of the business professionals that make our economy work.
The way things stand, there appears to be little sympathy for or
understanding of aviation’s problems.
2.
Institute tax relief for public use portions of airports. On one
hand airport operators have limited opportunities to earn income from
their property - fuel sales, hangar rent, flight instruction and
possibly aircraft sales. However, unless a large part of the airport
is in agricultural use and is taxed at the 15% farm rate of assessed
value, airports are taxed at their “highest and best”
development potential at New Jersey’s excessive property tax rates.
Airports
are available to their communities for emergency services like
aerial fire control and medivac. The public they serve is not just
air travelers. At a bare minimum, there should be no property taxes
assessed or paid on those public use portions of an airport -
runways, taxiways, terminal buildings and ramps. Airport owners will
be relieved of a significant cost burden while the revenue loss to
municipalities will be virtually nil.
3.
Develop a procedure and mechanism to make direct application to FAA
for airport modernization funds outside of the Federal block grant
mechanism which is administered by the State. South Jersey Regional,
Central Jersey Regional and Camden County are all valid candidates
for improvement. The current bureaucracy seems incapable of
recognizing their critical importance and allocating sufficient
funding to preserve and improve them. At some level, FAA really IS
there to help. Word is out from Transportation Secretary Norman
Minetta that we need more pavement. We have a rare golden opportunity
to make good on that realization.
4.
Expand capital improvement funding through the State Transportation
Trust Fund in order to bring all NJ airports into compliance with
applicable FAA safety requirements. Just as highways have been
improved to accommodate larger and faster cars and trucks, our
airports will have to be improved to meet the more demanding
operating requirements of new aircraft designs. Cubs, Aeroncas and
Cessna 140's gave way to Bonanzas and Aztecs. Bonanzas and Aztecs to
Malibus and Citation Jets. New and vastly more efficient aircraft
like the Eclipse will soon be available. They will be that much more
useful to business operators. They will be whisper quiet but their
aerodynamic characteristics dictate that they land fast and they land
long. If New Jersey is to accommodate these far ranging business
tools, the State must build the proper facilities to receive them
5.
Encourage the State to secure and exercise a right of first refusal
or option to purchase in the event that any public use airport owner
seeks to change its use. A number of New Jersey airports are
threatened with immediate closure. A mechanism to give the State
prior acquisition authority should be part of any agreement to pay
for airport improvements with State funds. It will cost airport
owners very little to commit to keeping their facilities open.
6.
Because of legislation passed in prior years, it is possible to use
State funds for loans to airport businesses to make investments in
facilities which will generate a profit (like the hangars that we
have needed for years). Make the loan money available. Invest in the airports.
7.
Encourage siting of fire, emergency services and compatible
municipal functions at or adjacent to airports. It is all too evident
that residences and schools built next to airports and beyond runway
end zones cause problems. When considering the development of open
space near airports, put something there that is compatible with the
airport. For that matter, any open space near airport approach paths
and adjacent to airports should be zoned for a use that will not
compromise the airport, i.e. as commercial or industrial.
8.
Set aside a pot of money within the Transportation Trust Fund for
the outright purchase of airports or airport development rights
pursuant to recently passed Legislation. The $2.5 million which
Governor Whitman reserved is a drop in the bucket compared to what
will be needed. However the intent of the Legislature in approving
this bill is clear. Save the airports. Guaranteed fundingbecomes even
more important in light of projected budget shortfalls.
9.
Incorporate the State Aviation System Plan currently being revised
into the State Development and Redevelopment Plan. There should be a
common sense understanding of the incompatibility of homes and
airports and that reality should be reflected in the State plan.
10.
Develop a commitment to promote aviation within the New Jersey
Commerce Commission and the business community. Business users can
and should be our strongest advocates. Recreational flying is
important, however so are canoeing and golf. Recreational flyers have
no reason to be ashamed of their avocation. However recreational
flying doesn’t contribute any where near as much to the State
economy as business aviation.
People
whose time is valuable and stuff that has a high time value is what
General Aviation serves. Business is our natural advocate. Business
interests and the organizations that represent them would promote
aviation if they knew how close the system is to collapse and how
necessary the benefits provided to them by general aviation are.
Incidently, in a recent study it was determined that most of the
folks who use corporate jets were the people who get things done -
the middle managers and technicians - NOT top level executives.
11.
Encourage Counties to create airport authorities. Our system of
privately owned public use airports is changing as the private
airport owners advance in age. There must be a sensible procedure for
transferring airports into public ownership as they become available
for sale. Owning and administering airports at the County level is
most logical because airports serve regional interests. To maximize
the efficiency of County owned facilities, County ownership should be
coupled with civilian oversight in the form of advisory boards
composed of local residents, pilots and commercial users of the
facilities. Neighbors of airports should certainly have a say in how
their local economic engine is managed.