![Article Image Alt Text]( "This Piper Arrow PA-28R-200 is similar to the plane Brent Jackson plans to pilot from his Callahan property, which is located near Four Creeks State Forest. Photo courtesy of globalair.com")
This Piper Arrow PA-28R-200 is similar to the plane Brent Jackson plans to pilot from his Callahan property, which is located near Four Creeks State Forest. Photo courtesy of globalair.com
All systems are go for a Callahan man’s private airstrip – but neighbors worry the noise could scare their horses.
The Nassau County Conditional Use and Variance Board voted 4-1 to approve Brent Jackson’s request to create a grass airstrip for his Piper PA-28-200R single-engine aircraft Sept. 26.
The open rural zoned property is at 55317 Sugar Loaf Lane and will include a 1,500-foot grass airstrip area for the plane’s takeoff and landing.
Jackson said that he plans to use the airstrip during daytime hours approximately two times per month for recreational purposes. The plane would depart in a southerly direction over nearby Four Creeks State Park to minimize noise, according to Jackson.
Sugar Loaf Lane resident Kari Tew voiced concern about the plane’s noise levels in her neighborhood, because she conducts horseback rides for children during 4-H activities. The plane has the capability of emitting a noise of 75 decibels, which is comparable to the noise made by a vacuum cleaner.
Tew said she wasn’t for or against the airstrip. Her horses live in an area that backs up closely to where the landing strip would be and she doesn’t want them stressed by the noise.
“I don’t want to crush a man’s dream to have an airstrip in his backyard and I don’t want to crush my dream of being able to have the horses and have children out there, you know, ruining their dream too,” Tew said.
Jackson addressed her concerns about noise levels.
“I do understand there is noise involved,” he said, adding that gun noise is louder than his plane. When approaching for landings, he said he’s gliding in with the plane’s engine turned off.
“My traffic pattern will be basically conducted fully over the forest, except for literally over my property where there’s not a safety concern of a crash,” he said. “If I screw up or something else, it’s either on my property or Four Creeks State Forest, which borders basically the back half of my property and my entire pattern of approach at that point. But if it’s something I need to notify you guys, I’m totally fine with that.”
Nassau County Planner Sue Ann Alleger said that studies have shown that horses can adapt to noises similar to the decibels that the plane makes.
Bismark Road resident Patti Walker also expressed concern about the plane’s noise and how horses may respond to it. She conducts rides for children and doesn’t want them harmed. Tew plans to take over Walker’s riding club in a year or so.
“The horses that are going out there that are owned by members are not going to be used to the flight noise,” Walker said.
She told the board she was on a ride once when some of the horses bucked and were frightened when a plane flew overhead.
She also said that her husband worked in an environment that had decibel levels of 85 to 95 and her husband is now deaf.
Jackson responded to Walker’s concerns.
“My plane is going to warm up – idle for probably a minute before I depart and be off the ground in 20 seconds,” he said. “It’s like accelerating in a car. It’s not from 0-75 decibels in just a half-a-second.”
Tew said that it would be OK to have the airstrip, but she would appreciate a text message or courtesy call before takeoff and landing.
Nassau County Attorney Mike Mullin said the condition is not enforceable.
“Whether he calls or doesn’t is up to him,” he said. “But it can’t be a condition if it’s not enforceable.”
The Nassau County Department of Planning and Economic Opportunity recommended approval with the condition that Jackson is the only on permitted. If he moves, the next owner would have to apply for an airstrip.
Jackson’s registration and application must also be approved by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Florida Department of Transportation.
Jackson will be required to keep aviation and transportation requirements up-to-date. Any accessory structures for the aircraft would require a building permit. Citizens have 30 days from the signed approval date to file an appeal. If appealed, it will go to the Nassau County Commission for its consideration.