Bucks Authority May Request FAA Study at Horsham Base

The clock is ticking on several issues concerning the future redevelopment of .

As the military clears off the 1,100-acre base, the fate of the hangs in the balance.

So, too, does the question of an airport at the base.

The Horsham Land Reuse Authority has not addressed studies to determine the various economic and environmental impacts of an airport operating at the base.

At a Wednesday meeting of the HLRA, resident Ken Plunkett asked the authority when it intended to apply to the FAA for a feasibility study. It's a question he has asked at several public meetings.

The study, which he said takes six months to carry out, would provide more answers and give residents a better understanding of what having an airport in the community means. 

“It’s a no-brainer guys. It’s simple stuff,” Plunkett said. “It’s actually your job to request that.”

HLRA Chairman W. William Whiteside – a Horsham Township Councilman – first said the study would be requested if an airport was deemed to be one of the more viable options. Then, when pressed by Plunkett about the timing, particularly since a redevelopment plan needs to be completed and submitted to the Department of Defense by December, Whiteside said it would be up to the individual applicants to request the study.

Montgomery County, as well as the submitted proposals for an airport. When reached Wednesday evening for comment, John Mininger, Bucks County Airport Authority executive director, agreed that it is the responsibility of the applicant to request the FAA study.

HLRA board member Steven Nelson, the Montgomery County Commissioners’ director of policy, said a study would provide needed information about the costs and benefits of an airport.

“I don’t know why the LRA wouldn’t consider doing the FAA study,” Nelson said. “The more information, the better.”

Mininger said the airport authority intends to request the study.

“That would be the next step,” Mininger said. “But, we haven’t set up a time schedule of when that would be.”

Mininger said the authority had hoped to have “some indication” from the HLRA about its feeling with regard to an airport before moving forward with a study.

The Bucks County Airport Authority operates the general aviation Doylestown Airport and Quakertown Airport, in addition to the less-developed Vansant airport in Tinicum.

Horsham residents have at countless meetings in opposition to an airport.

A grassroots group boasting more than 500 members has also printed and distributed outdoor signs throughout the township. The Horsham Township Council, with the exception of Whiteside, opposing an airport. Since then, the and have joined in the fight.

Joe Heffernan, who owns property near the end of the runway and has been part of the community since 1972, said he doesn’t have an opinion one way or another.

“I want to see all the options looked at,” Heffernan said. “I want to see what’s best for the township.”

Aircraft Association Lease Still in Question

Representatives of the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association also were on hand during Wednesday’s meeting, at the outset, to see a sublease with the HLRA executed.

When it became apparent that the all-volunteer organization had hit yet another obstacle and the sublease, again, would not be finalized, a handful of the 40 or so people in attendance left the meeting abruptly, muttering as they went.

The military had originally given DVHAA until the end of March to either finalize a sublease with the HLRA, or leave the property where its museum is housed on Route 611. Just as that lease was to expire, the Navy extended the deadline until May 31.

“We really need to get it by the end of the month,” said DVHAA President Ron Nelson, who pleaded with the HLRA to bend on some of its requirements.

The earliest the lease could be executed is May 18, the next HLRA meeting.

The main issue causing the delays, according to Nelson and HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee, is setting an amount for a performance bond to cover the costs associated with removing the planes and buildings should DVHAA no longer operate. If the bond is too low and DVHAA ceases to exist, or closes its museum, the HLRA would be responsible for costs associated with removal of aircraft and buildings.

Nelson said he thinks the aforementioned $400,000 is too high and would cost DVHAA $10,000 to $12,000 per year.

“We’ve got better uses for that money,” Nelson said. “I don’t want to make the insurance company rich. I want to restore beautiful airplanes.”

McGee said it’s possible that the HLRA may be able to bend with the bond amount and said, as he had for the last several months, that a sublease is expected to be in place for the next meeting.

“I am more optimistic than ever,” McGee said. “We are so very close.”

Homeless Housing Submission Approved

In other business, the HLRA board approved the submission of a revised application for , which involves redeveloping 199 military housing units into 113 single and twin residences. The land lies in Warminster and Ivyland, but falls under the HLRA’s purview, because, Whiteside said, the other communities were not interested in forming their own land reuse authorities.

“They forced us to manage the redistribution of the property,” Whiteside said, noting that in all land transfer situations, the HLRA acts as an intermediary between the military and the new landowner.

The plan, which provides housing to the homeless, had been submitted last year to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and had been rejected. The new application is due to HUD by May 18, McGee said.

“We’re now resubmitting the package with the items addressed,” Whiteside said. “It’s a plan we believe will be approved.”