Airport authority wants zoning control of Indianapolis Executive Airport

By Nick McLain/For The Lebanon Reporter

Zionsville — The Hamilton County Airport Authority has filed a lawsuit against Zionsville and Boone County in an effort to affirm a legal basis for control of zoning and land use at the site of the Indianapolis Executive Airport, 11329 E. Ind. 32, Zionsville.

The lawsuit, filed last Wednesday in Hamilton County Superior Court I, names the Town of Zionsville, Zionsville Plan Commission, Boone County Commissioners and Boone County Area Plan Commission as defendants. Each of those parties were served notice of the lawsuit on Monday, Feb. 8.

Tuesday night, Feb. 2, the authority adopted its own zoning ordinance for the IEA site. A public hearing will be held on the ordinance at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 4, in the Commissioners Courtroom in the Hamilton County Government and Judicial Center, 1 Hamilton County Square, Noblesville.

Airport Authority President Don Silvey said the lawsuit is an effort for the authority to assure that it has exclusive control of zoning and land use at the airport. They are represented by the law firm Bose McKinney & Evans.

“What we’re doing is, we hired Bose to tell us where we were legally,” Silvey said. “They told us, the way they read the law, I understand them to say that we have zoning authority in our property in the form of the airport authority itself.”

Although the Hamilton County Airport Authority owns the site, it is actually located in Zionsville now, on land that was formerly in Union Township. When Zionsville consolidated, the zoning for that area was retained.

However, because of the county’s past involvement, they, too, are included as defendants.

“Our attorneys told us, effective three years ago when we became an authority, whether we passed the ordinance or not, we were the proper people to have authority,” Silvey said.

Engineers from the airport, along with Zionsville town officials and County Surveyor Ken Hedge, met last week to discuss drainage at the airport.

“Comments made during that meeting were interpreted that we’d have to get various permits that we didn’t think we had to get,” Silvey said.

The lawsuit states: “Zionsville and the Zionsville Plan Commission attempted to exercise drainage control over the lands of the airport and purported to order the Airport Authority and its engineers to desist from making drainage or other land use improvements on airport lands without obtaining approval from Zionsville and the Zionsville Plan Commission.”

The authority also disputes Section 3-2B in the Rural Special Regulations section of Zionsville’s zoning ordinance, which states: “If a runway is extended, or direction of a runway is changed, the owners shall petition in the Town of Zionsville Plan Commission for approval.”

Despite it technically being a lawsuit, Silvey didn’t want the situation envisioned as adversarial.

“Unfortunately, in our legal system, it is filed as a lawsuit,” he said. “So it’s reported as suing. But we have one issue and one issue only. We’re asking a judge if we are interpreting correctly. There is no fight if everyone agrees on that. We regret that we’ve undoubtedly upset some people, but we’re just trying to interpret the law correctly.No one is trying to beat anybody up or take advantage of anybody,” Silvey said.

Ulmer agreed.

“The authority has control, and they supersede any previous county ordinance,” she said. “This has to get clarified, and I think, in this litigious world, having a judge enter an opinion is the right way to go.”

She also lauded the relationship with the airport, calling it an “asset for the county.”

Zionsville Town Council President Matt Price admitted being a bit caught off-guard by the authority’s filing.

“I’m surprised by the approach of the authority, in making no effort to talk with the town prior to filing,” Price said. “So I was a bit surprised. But we’ll see what their issue is.”

The court’s decision could have an effect on future improvements the airport has in store.

On Dec. 16, IEA had an open house for the 10-year master plan for the airport, which was OK’d by the Federal Aviation Administration.

One of the major elements of that plan includes extending the runway from 5,500 to 7,000 feet to accommodate aircraft taking off fully loaded. The extension will extend further south.

“We have some property acquisition we need to do, but not because of that (the extension south),” Silvey said. “There is some property that abuts the south end that we really need to acquire for runway protection.”

Other improvements that will be made include refurbishing Hangar B, which Silvey said had become “tired,” and adding more taxiways. Clients may wish to build additional private hangars, Silvey said, and that will require the necessary taxiways to maneuver the planes.

The airport was purchased by the Hamilton County Aviation Commissioners in 2003. The Hamilton County Airport Authority then acquired the IEA in 2006.

IEA was named the 2009 Airport of the Year by the Aviation Association of Indiana. It oversees about 40,000 takeoffs and landings each year.

Dan Montgomery, who manages IEA and owns Montgomery Aviation, referred comment to Silvey. Montgomery said the authority had not consulted with him prior to filing the lawsuit.

Boone County Commissioner Marc Applegate did not wish to comment for the story, as he said their attorney was still reviewing the complaint.

Boone County Area Plan Commission Director Rachel Whittington did not return calls for this story.

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