Editorials
Buffalo-Lancaster Airport complaints are just about safety
By Lee Chowaniec
Jun 28, 2009, 15:11

After reading the 6-28-09 edition of a Lancaster Source opinion commentary titled, “Airport complaints are just buyer’s remorse,” I felt the need to counter-comment.

Declaring to be a real estate developer and tenant-pilot at the Buffalo-Lancaster Airport, Eran Epstein claims the airport predates all the residential development that now sits in the flight pattern. “These property owners knew the airport was there and still decided to build in the flight pattern.”

The airport has been there for decades, but until 2007 was little used, with less than ten planes stationed there. At one time there was only one plane housed at the airport and flown, namely, the owner’s. With the recent expansion, there are now 50-60 planes, a flight school and with further runway expansion planned corporate jets will be using the airport. The game was changed by the town and FAA where the homeowners in the flight pattern now precede the airport in age and all involved agencies tell the complaining homeowners “you should have known better!”

Epstein questions why building permits were issued by the Lancaster building department in an area that was (and is) in the direct takeoff pattern of an airport? Why indeed has the town been approving site plans for development projects that lay within the flight pattern – as far back as decades ago. In fact, the town created Westwood Park which is in the flight path. I was at Westwood Saturday watching my grandson play baseball on Fenway diamond. In an hour’s time, between 10 am and 11 am, I counted 21 small craft flying south somewhere between Pavement and Cemetery Roads and then making a left turn to head in an easterly direction. Of the 21, 19 headed east to the north of Westwood Park, over the northerly ball diamonds and directly over Westwood Park. And the real estate developer has the gall to state, “The fact that Lancaster is an uncontrolled airport is irrelevant to its safety and the fact that there is a flight school on site helps ensure that fact.”

By their own advertising, the Bob Miller flight school accepts students as young as sixteen and obligates them to fly solo after 20 hours of training – with the trainer observing from the ground. There are no rules, regulations, control tower or communication process in place with the BNIA; after all it’s a private airport. In fact, according to the Town of Lancaster and the FAA, there are no safety issues.

The town declares they have nothing to do with the Buffalo-Lancaster airport as they issued no permits or gave the private enterprise no funding. They didn’t, but they did approved a SEQR declaring there were no significant adverse impacts associated with the project and approved the airport master plan on the same night as SEQR; without there being a public hearing on the matter. The process followed made it possible for the airport to move on and get federal funding.

Finding no violations, the FAA tells concerned homeowners that “as long as aircrafts are in the take off mode they can just about scrape your roofs with their wheels and there is nothing they (FAA) can do about it.”

As a real estate developer how can Epstein make a ludicrous charge that the homeowners in the direct flight pattern “purchased their homes for a discounted price as opposed to other people who made a conscious choice to purchase their homes outside the takeoff area. Talk about someone who should know better.

After spending a few days at Westwood Park, and visiting homes in the flight path, I better understand the safety concerns voiced by the homeowners; especially considering none of the aircraft appeared to be flying 1,000 feet above a densely populated area. It’s just about safety! Residents who have appeared before the board and contacted other entities have made that quite clear.

The “complaining” voices are those of the community within and outside the flight path and deserve better from a town board whose elected office dictates protecting community and environment best interests.




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