It is hereby found that an airport hazard endangers the lives and property of users of the Hillsboro Airport and of occupants of land in its vicinity, and also, if of the obstruction type, in effect reduces the size of the are available for the landing, taking-off and maneuvering of aircraft, thus tending to destroy or impair the utility of the airport and the public investment or interest therein. Accordingly, it is hereby declared:
1. That the creation or establishment of an airport hazard is a public nuisance and an injury to the community served by the Hillsboro Airport:
2. That it is therefore necessary in the interest of the public health, public safety, and general welfare that the creation or establishment of airport hazards be prevented. It is further declared that both the prevention of the creation or establishment of airport hazards and the elimination, removal, alteration, mitigation, or marking and lighting of existing airport hazards are public purposes for which the Governing Body may raise and expend public funds and acquire land or property purposes therein, as provided in K.S.A. 3-702.
1. Authority: In order to prevent the creation or establishment of airport hazards, these airport zoning regulations are adopted by the Governing Body under powers conferred by K.S.A. 3-703. Further, these airport zoning regulations are incorporated and made a part of these city zoning regulations as authorized by K.S.A. 3-704(1).
2. Reasonableness: these airport zoning regulations impose reasonable requirements and restrictions that are necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Section. In determining these regulations and airport zoning district boundaries, the following were considered:
a. The character of the flying operations expected to be conducted at the Hillsboro Airport.
b. The nature of the terrain within the airport hazard area.
c. The character of the surrounding neighborhood.
d. The uses to which the property to be zoned is put and adaptable.
1. In the event of conflict between any airport zoning regulations in this Section and any other zoning regulations applicable to the same area, whether the conflict be with respect to the height of structures or trees, the use of land, or any other matter, the more stringent limitation or requirement as to airport hazards shall govern and prevail.
1. The Hillsboro City Council is hereby appointed as the Hillsboro Airport Zoning Commission, as provided for in K.S.A. 3-705.
1. Notice and Hearing by the Governing Body: These airport zoning regulations may be adopted, amended, or changed by action of the Governing body. Prior to such action, said board shall hold at least one public hearing in relation thereto, at which parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be hear. At least twenty (20) days’ notice of the hearing shall be published in the official paper, or a paper of general circulation.
2. Recommendation and Hearing by the Planning Commission: Prior to the initial zoning of the airport hazard area, the Governing Body shall, in its authority as the Airport Zoning Commission, recommend the boundaries of the various zoning districts to be established and the regulations to be adopted therefore. The Planning Commission shall make a preliminary report and hold one or more public hearings thereon before submitting its final report. The Governing Body shall not adopt these airport zoning regulations until the final report of the Planning Commission is received. All proposed amendments to this section shall first be submitted to the Planning Commission for recommendation and report, and no amendment or change shall be made by the Governing body without a hearing before the Planning Commission.
1. Applicability: In order to carry out the provisions of this Section, there are hereby created and established certain airport overlay districts which include all of land lying beneath the approach surfaces, transitional surfaces, horizontal surfaces, and conical surfaces as they apply to the Hillsboro Airport.
2. Land to Which This Section Applies: The aforementioned airport overlay districts and the land lying beneath each are shown on the Airspace Plan Airport. The Governing Body hereby designates said airspace plan as the official map to be used in determining those areas that require special airport height regulations and use restrictions. Said airspace plan is incorporated herein by reference and made a part of these zoning regulations.
3. Rules for Interpretation of Airport Overlay District Boundaries: The boundaries of the airport overlay districts shall be determined by reviewing the Airspace Plan map incorporated by reference herein. Where interpretation is needed as to the exact location of the boundaries of the airport overlay districts, the Zoning Administrator shall make the necessary interpretation based upon data available. The Zoning Administrator will maintain said official Airspace Plan map. In such cases where the interpretation of airport overlay district boundaries is contested, the Planning Commission shall resolve the dispute. An area located in more than one of the following airport overlay districts shall be considered to be only in the airport overlay district with the more restrictive height limitation.
4. Airport Overlay Districts Established and Defined: The various airport overlay districts are hereby established and defined as follows:
a. Airport Approach Zone Overlay District 1 (AP-Al): The inner edge of this approach overlay district (the utility runway visual approach zone) coincides with the width of the primary surface and is 250 feet wide. This approach overlay district expands outward uniformly to a width of 1,250 feet at a horizontal distance of 5,000 feet from the primary surface. Its centerline is the continuation of the centerline of the runway.
b. Airport Approach Zone Overlay District 2 (AP-A2): The inner edge of this approach overlay district (the utility runway non-precision instrument approach zone) coincides with the width of the primary surface and is 500 feet wide. This approach overlay district expands outward uniformly to a width of 2,000 feet at a horizontal distance 5,000 feet from the primary surface. Its centerline is the continuation of the centerline of the runway.
c. Airport Transitional Zone Overlay District (AP-T): This overlay district (or the transitional zone) includes areas beneath the transitional surfaces.
d. Airport Horizontal Zone Overlay District (AP-H): This overlay district (or the horizontal zone( is established by swinging arcs of five thousand (5,000) feet radii from the center of each end of the primary surface of each runway and connecting the adjacent arcs by drawing lines tangent to those areas. The Airport Horizontal Zone Overlay District does not include the approach and transitional districts.
e. Airport Conical Zone Overlay District (AP-C): This overlay district (or the conical zone) is established as the area that commences at the periphery of the Airport Horizontal Zone Overlay District and extends outward therefrom a horizontal distance of four thousand (4,000) feet.
1. Except as otherwise provided in this Section, no structure shall be erected, altered, or maintained, and no tree shall be allowed to grow in any overlay district created by this section to a height in excess of the applicable height limit herein established for such overlay district. Such applicable height limitations are hereby established for each of the overlay districts in question as follows:
a. Airport Approach Zone Overlay District 1 (AP-Al): Slopes twenty (20) feet outward for each one (1) foot upward beginning at the end of, and at the same elevation as the primary surface and extending to a horizontal distance of 5,000 feet along the extended runway centerline.
b. Airport Approach Zone Overlay District 2 (AP-A2): Slopes twenty (20) feet outward for each one (1) foot upward beginning at the end of and at the same elevation as the primary surface and extending to a horizontal distance of 5,000 feet along the extended runway centerline.
c. Airport Transitional Zone Overlay District (AP-T): Slope seven (7) feet outward for each one (1) foot upward beginning at the sides of and at the same elevation as the primary surface and the approach surface, and extending to a height of 150 feet above the airport elevation which is ______ feet above mean sea level. In addition to the foregoing, there are established height limits sloping seven (7) feet outward for each one (1) foot upward beginning at the sides of and at the same elevation as the approach surface, and extending to where they intersect the conical surface.
d. Airport Horizontal Zone Overlay District (AP-H): Established at 150 feet above the airport elevation or at a height of _____ feet above mean sea level.
e. Airport Conical Zone Overlay District (AP-C): Slopes twenty (20) feet outward for each one (1) foot upward beginning at the periphery of the horizontal overlay district and at 150 feet above the Hillsboro Airport elevation and extending to a height of 350 feet above said airport’s elevation.
1. Use Restrictions Generally: Not withstanding any other provisions of this Section, no use may be made of land or water within any airport overlay zone established by said Section in such a manner as to create electrical interference with navigational signals or radio communication between the Hillsboro Airport and aircraft, make it difficult for pilots to distinguish between airport lights and others, result in glare in the eyes of pilots using the airport, impair visibility in the vicinity of the airport, create bird strike hazards, or otherwise in any way endanger or interfere with the landing, takeoff, or maneuvering of aircraft intending to use the airport.
2. Use Restrictions in Airport Zone Overlay Districts: Only non-residential uses shawl be permitted within the Airport Approach Zone Overlay Districts (AP-A1 and AP-A2). Permitted uses shall meet the height limitation standards established in this Section. The following uses are permitted in districts AP-A1 and AP-A2.
a. Agricultural uses
b. Public and private recreational uses such as golf courses, parks, and wildlife and nature preserves.
c. Any use permitted in the Industrial District
1. All non-conforming uses within the airport overlay districts established in this Section shall be subject to the regulations of this section in addition to the provisions of these zoning regulations dealing with non-conforming uses.
2. Regulations Not Retroactive: Nothing in this Section shall require the removal, lowering, or other change or alteration of any structure or tree not conforming to these airport zoning regulations when adopted or amended, or otherwise interfere with the continuance of any non-conforming use, except as provided in Subsection 3 hereunder: Provided, however, that the Governing Body may require, upon thirty (30) days notice in writing, that any person, firm, association, owning and maintaining any non-conforming pole or pole line upon the roads and highways immediately adjoining the airport to remove, lower, change, or alter said non-conforming pole or pole line, upon prior payment by the Governing Body to said person, firm, association, or corporation of the reasonable and necessary expense of removing, lowering, changing, or altering such pole or pole lines. Reasonable and necessary expense of removing, lowering, changing, or altering said pole or pole lines shall include, among other items of expense, the actual cost of:
a. Constructing underground conduits and the construction of such wires and equipment in such conduits;
b. Rerouting wires together with the poles, cross arms and other equipment connected thereto, together with the cost, if any, of new right-of-way made necessary by such rerouting.
3. Marking and Lighting: Not withstanding the preceding provision of this section, the owner of any existing non-conforming structure or tree is hereby required to permit the installation, operation, and maintenance thereon of such markers and lights as shall be deemed necessary by the Zoning Administrator to indicate to the operators of aircraft in the vicinity of the airport the presence of such airport obstruction. Such markers and lights shall be installed, operated, and maintained at the expense of the City.
1. Permits Required: Except as specifically provided hereunder, no material change shall be made in the use of land, no structure shall be erected or otherwise established, and no tree shall be planted in any airport overlay district hereby created unless a permit therefore shall have been applied for and granted by the Zoning Administrator. Each application for a permit shall indicate the purpose for which the permit is desired, with sufficient particularity to permit it to be determined whether the resulting use, structure, or tree would conform to the regulations prescribed in this Section. If such determination is in the affirmative, the permit shall be granted by the Zoning Administrator, except as provided herein. Said permit shall be in addition to any required building permit, if applicable.
2. Permits Not Required: The following uses do not require permits in the airport zoning districts established in this Section.
a. AP-H and AP-C Overlay Districts: In the area lying within the limits of the Airport Horizontal Zone Overlay District (AP-H) and the Airport Conical Zone Overlay District (AP-C), no permits shall be required for any tree or permitted structure less than seventy-five (75) feet of vertical height above the ground, except when, because of terrain, land contour, or topographic features, such tree or structure would extend above the height limits prescribed for such districts.
b. AP-A1 and AP-A2 Overlay Districts: In areas lying within the limits of the Airport Approach Zone Overlay District 1 (AP-A1) and the Airport Approach Zone Overlay District 2 (AP-A2), but at a horizontal distance of not less than 4,200 feet from each end of the runway, no permit shall be required for any tree or permitted structure less than seventy-five (75) feet of vertical height above the ground, except when such tree or structure would extend above the height limits prescribed for such districts.
c. AP-T Overlay District: In the areas lying within the limits of the Airport Transitional Zone Overlay District (AP-T) beyond the perimeter of the Airport Horizontal Zone Overlay District (AP-H), no permit shall be required for any tree or permitted structure less than seventy-five (75) feet above the ground, except when such tree or structure, because of terrain, land contour, or topographic features, would extend above the height limit prescribed for such AP-T District.
d. Nothing contained in any of the foregoing exceptions shall be construed as permitting or intending to permit any construction, or alteration of any structure, or growth of any tree in excess of any of the height limits established by this Section.
3. Permits for Non-conforming Uses: No permit shall be granted that would allow the establishment or creation of any airport hazard or permit a non-conforming structure or tree or non-conforming use to be made or become higher or become a greater hazard to air navigation than it was when the applicable regulation was adopted or than it is when the application for a permit is made.
4. Permits for Non-conforming Uses Abandoned or Destroyed: Whenever the Zoning Administrator determines that a non-conforming use has been abandoned, torn down, or damaged more than fifty (50) percent of its fair market valuation by fire, explosion, act of God, or the public enemy, no permit shall be granted that would allow such structure or tree to exceed the applicable height limit or otherwise deviate from these zoning regulations.
1. Application for Variance: As authorized by K.S.A. 3-707(2), any person desiring to erect any structure, or increase the height of any structure, or permit the growth of any tree, or otherwise use his or her property in violation of the airport zoning regulations established in this Section, may apply to the Governing Body for a variance from the zoning regulation in question. Such variances shall be allowed where a literal application or enforcement of the regulations would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship and the relief granted would not be contrary to the public interest, will not create a hazard to air navigation, will do substantial justice, and will be in accordance with the spirit of this Section. Provided, however, that any variance may be allowed subject to any reasonable conditions that the Governing Body may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Section.
2. Determination by Federal Aviation Administration: An application for variance to the requirements of this Section shall be accompanied by a determination from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as to the effect of the proposal on the operation of air navigation facilities and the safe, efficient use of navigable airspace.
3. Recommendation of Zoning Administrator: No application for variance to the requirements of this Section shall be considered by the Governing Body unless a copy of the application has been furnished to the Zoning Administrator advising as to the aeronautical effects of the variance. If the Zoning Administrator does not respond to the application for variance within fifteen (15) days after receipt of same, the governing Body may act on its own to grant or deny said application.
1. Any permit or variance granted under the authority of this Section may, if such action is deemed advisable to effectuate the purpose of this Section and be reasonable in the circumstances, be so conditioned as to require the owner of the structure or tree in question to install, operate, and maintain, at the owner’s expense, such markings and lights that may be necessary. If deemed proper by the Governing Body, this condition may be modified to require the owner to permit the Zoning Administrator, at the Hillsboro expense, to install, operate, and maintain the necessary markings and lights.
1. It shall be the duty of the Zoning Administrator to administer and enforce the regulations prescribed in this Section. Applications for permits and variances shall be made to the Zoning Administrator upon a form furnished for that purpose. Applications required by this Section to be submitted to the Zoning Administrator shall be promptly considered and granted or denied. Application for variance by the Governing Body shall be forthwith transmitted by the Zoning Administrator.