Airport expansion worries Henderson residents

Lisa Snedeker

Tuesday, Feb. 23, 1999 | 11:34 a.m.

Residents just west of Henderson are concerned about rumors flying over Clark County's planned expansion of the Henderson Executive Airport.

Eileen Ancman, who moved into her Silverado Ranch home earlier this month, told more than 100 residents at a Town Hall meeting Monday that plans call for large jets to fly in and out of the airport around the clock following the proposed expansion of its runways.

"There's going to be lots of traffic and lots of noise," Ancman said.

Not true, county aviation officials told residents. Small airports attract small airplanes, not 727s or other commercial passenger carriers, said Jacob Snow, assistant director of planning and general aviation for the county.

Residents at the meeting, held at Frank Lamping Elementary School and organized by resident Bill Moss, also expressed their concerns to city officials about construction traffic on Eastern Avenue and the proposed locations for future fire stations.

Snow agreed there are a lot of rumors about the proposed airport expansion, only some of which are true.

"It's true we plan to spend a lot of money on upgrades," he said, adding the county has already invested $24 million in the facility. "We have a strong interest in small airports."

Randy Walker, McCarran International Airport director, said the county has been fighting the rumor that 727s will be landing in Henderson for a long time.

"A 727 cannot take off from a 5,000-foot runway," he said. "The environmental requirements will not let it happen and the pavement is not stressed for a 727."

The majority of the air traffic in Henderson, in addition to the Grand Canyon prop plane tours, would be corporate jets, "which are much quieter than prop planes," Walker said.

Snow did say, however, that with the runway improvements the county plans to double the Henderson facility's air traffic. Last year 60,000 aircraft took off from Henderson.

That has residents in the neighboring Seven Hills master-planned development worried about how the increased noise will affect their quality of life.

While home buyers in Seven Hills were given disclosure statements concerning the airport expansion, Ancman said home buyers in the area of Silverado Ranch and Eastern Avenue were not, despite being in the airport's flight path.

Tom Donaldson, general manager for the Henderson airport, said as part of the expansion, the county is considering shifting the airport 15 degrees to the west and farther south, away from Seven Hills.

In 1996, Clark County purchased and changed the name of the former Sky Harbor Airport to Henderson Executive Airport as part of the county's Department of Aviation expansion.