Collier County commissioners opted not to host a joint workshop with the Naples Airport Authority to discuss a possible relocation to a site within the county.
The Board of County Commissioners made the informal decision at its Aug. 27 meeting after Commissioner Dan Kowal, whose district covers the Naples Airport, asked for input.
“It’s an inordinate expense for us to be giving a consideration to a report that was done without any communication,” Commissioner Bill McDaniel Jr. said, suggesting no workshop or holding one in November.
“(The sites) are in District 5, and they never even called me, so I don’t have any interest in pursuing relocating that airport,” he added. “… They have the right to do whatever they want to do, when they want to do it, and if they require us to give permission for that at some stage, we can give permission to do it.”
They agreed they should stop the process now, calling a workshop premature. Commissioner Burt Saunders said it would be more appropriate to discuss after a site is selected and needs to be rezoned.
The NAA hired California-based Environmental Science Associates to conduct an exploratory study after years of noise complaints by neighbors and a request by Naples City Council to study a possible move. ESA suggested four potential sites in eastern Collier County, but construction wouldn’t start for eight to 12 years and wouldn’t be completed until about 2040, at a cost of $790 million to $1.6 billion—2024 estimates that will likely increase.
The proposed locations are:
- Site A, east of the county landfill, about 9 miles away from the current airport.
- Site B, the Lipman Family Farms area off U.S. 41, roughly 11 miles away.
- Site C, Sunripe land, south of Oil Well Road, about 23 miles away.
- Site D, Immokalee Regional Airport, about 30 miles away.
ESA also considered closing the airport or limiting it to current tenants: helicopter operations, Collier County Sheriff’s Office, county Emergency Management Services and Mosquito Control. Airport tenants and many residents oppose the move.
Naples Airport, which began in 1943 as a military airfield, is located on roughly 1 square mile on the west side of Airport-Pulling Road. It’s self-sustaining, uses no taxpayer money and leases most of its 733 acres from the city for $1 yearly, while generating $781 million annually for the area.
The authority has spent millions to reduce noise, including voluntary curfews and working with neighborhoods under flight paths. Its Fly Safe, Fly Quiet program recognizes operators for observing the 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. curfew, arrival altitudes and noise output.
The NAA would have to prove to the Federal Aviation Administration which site is best, there’s a need to move, and how the site would affect Immokalee Regional Airport, Marco Island Executive Airport and Southwest Florida International Airport. Public hearings before county commissioners also are required.
Kowal suggested that the county manager and city manager discuss it. “They’re using a lot of their tax dollars to do these studies,” he said of NAA funds, noting that it will take 20 years to open. “I don’t want to see any more wasted tax dollars if this really doesn’t have any traction.”
