Airport acquires more project land

The Pullman-Moscow Runway Realignment Project is on hiatus for the winter, but the project is still moving forward in other ways. The airport recently acquired more land that will help in the completion of the overall project.

Pullman-area farmer Keith Kopf recently sold approximately 40 acres to the City of Pullman for the purpose of the project. Another Pullman resident, Carol Jorstad, also sold approximately 65 acres for the project.

Airport Administrator Tony Bean explained that land sales have to be conducted through the city rather than the airport.

“The way the airport is structured, the two cities own the airport, but all airport property is titled to Pullman,” he said. “In real estate matters, Pullman acts as an agent. The airport board itself does not purchase the land.”

The Jorstad sale was recorded in the treasurer’s office Oct. 7 and listed two separate sales. The first sale was for $112,477 and totaled 10.47 acres, while the second sale came in at $597,523 at 54.69 acres. The Kopf sale was recorded in the treasurer’s office Nov. 14 and also listed two separate sales, the first being for 12.56 acres to the project for $157,000, and the second being for 27.16 acres for $339,500.

Bean said the land will be used to help the project meet Federal Aviation Administration standards.

“It is additional property to the south buffer required by the FAA to maintain the runway,” he said.

The FAA, Bean said, wants an airport to have control of as much land as possible near an airport.

“If the airport owns and controls that property, you don’t end up with incompatible land use next to the airport,” he explained. “FAA’s preference is you own as much around the airport as you can so you can keep it compatible with the airport.”

Bean detailed that the buffer land will be looked at as zones, with the first zone being designated as a safety area, the second as an object-free area and the next as the property line.

“It’s all a clear-zone area,” he said.

Some of the land will also be used for topography construction, Bean said, noting the topography also needs to be in line with FAA standards.

“Some of it’s higher than what it’s supposed to be with clearance,” said Bean. “There’s terrain in there that needs to be cut down, and some of that needs to be built up, too.”

Bean also said the parcels were used for power lines.

“We relocated the power lines, and the parcels now have power lines running through them,” he said.

Bean added that almost all land purchased from now on for the project will be used for buffer zones or topography construction.

Federal funds already allocated for the project were used to purchase the land. Bean also noted land negotiations are still ongoing with Washington State University. The airport is looking to acquire more than 100 acres of WSU-owned land for use as a runway protection zone.

“Negotiations with WSU are still underway,” he said. “We’re hoping to have some headway in January.”