The Port of Orcas Commission met Thursday, May 28 in a special session to solicit ideas from the public surrounding the FAA policy of no through the fence access to the airport from adjacent residential properties.

Airport Manager Beatrice vonTobel said, “The FAA has taken through the fence agreements as their major point of emphasis.”

Currently more than 26 residences have deeded easement access to the airport. The FAA wants those agreements terminated or bought out, and no new easements granted.

Chair Garth Eimers encouraged participation from the community. Eimers said, “This discussion is for us to brainstorm for all alternatives available to the Port. No decisions will be made at this meeting.”

The meeting gathered several ideas for dealing with the FAA policy.

• To make no change and risk the loss of future FAA funding, possibly requiring the return of funds already invested in the Port.

• The Port to buy adjacent properties as they come up for sale, strip the access rights from the deed, and resell them without it.

• The Port to buy adjacent properties as they come up for sale and resell them with a fee for access.

• The Port to exercise eminent domain and take easement access rights from the deeds.

• Property owners with access to sell their rights to the Port in a one-time payment.

• Require those property owners to pay an annual tie-down rate of $320, similar to a homeowners’ association.

• Ask current owners to strip the easement access to the Port from their deed whenever they sell their property.

Paul Vierthaler said of refusing FAA funding, “Let’s talk about keeping Orcas Island a small, little airport. We’re losing airports every day.”

Eimers said he thought refusing FAA funding based on this policy wasn’t judicious because the airport is a benefit for everyone on the island, not just the Port’s adjacent residents.

“There are substantial safety concerns with that. My constituents are everybody on this island. Doing something that may undermine safety is not a service to the community,” said Eimers.

The Port currently has a grant application in to the FAA for support in a two-step plan to resurface the runway and taxiways. The FAA has been in contact with the Port on this issue since 1996, and has recently said it will hold up grant funding until the Port is compliant with their through the fence residential policy.

VonTobel called for help from those in attendance to talk to their neighbors about solutions they would agree to. “It would behoove the Port to move forward with deliberate haste,” she said.

Four members of the public were at the meeting. Eimers commented that low attendance could be interpreted as community disinterest.

Vierthaler said, “You couldn’t have better neighbors next to an airport except people who fly. The tough thing I see is trying to get every property owner to agree.”

The next Port of Orcas meeting is on Thursday, June 11 at 7 p.m. in the port conference room.