Attempt to stall airport expansion fails

By EMILY NIPPS, Times Staff Writer
Published January 18, 2008

TAMPA - The City Council doesn't have jurisdiction over expansion plans at Peter O. Knight Airport, but some council members tried to stall the effort at Thursday's meeting.

A motion to do so failed, however, with only John Dingfelder and Linda Saul-Sena voting against the project.

Hillsborough County Aviation Authority officials will proceed with plans to recommend adding more hangars and a reconfigured runway. If the authority's board accepts the recommendation during a meeting Feb. 7, the agency will begin a $1.8-million project to add 175 feet of pavement to the runway's southwest end, extending it closer to some homes on Davis Islands.

The authority said it needs to reconfigure the runway to meet federal safety requirements.

But some residents say the authority can find other ways to meet safety guidelines. They have spoken out against the expansion for months, saying that the hangars will be unsightly and the closer runway will threaten their safety and create more noise. The Davis Islands Civic Association adopted a resolution to oppose the project last month.

But residents and city officials have no say in what the Aviation Authority does with the airport land, which was purchased from the city in 1999.

Dingfelder wanted the council to write a letter to the authority that would be forwarded to the Florida Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Authority, requesting that the agencies waive the airport's safety requirements for the runway.

Council members Charlie Miranda, Gwen Miller, Thomas Scott and Joseph Caetano voted down the motion.

"Unless some new information comes along, I'm not sure there's anything else we can do," Dingfelder said later.

Emily Nipps can be reached at nipps@sptimes.com or 813 226-3431.

[Last modified January 18, 2008, 00:43:46]