Anti-Airport Sentiment Draws Out Huge Crowd

Expanding Horsham Township’s tax base topped the list of priorities in a community survey conducted in conjunction with the redevelopment of Willow Grove air base.

But, on Wednesday night, the overwhelming majority of the more than 300 people crammed into Horsham Township’s community center cared about only one thing: Keeping the base’s runway closed.

“The people in Horsham, we’ve been patriots for 70 years,” Horsham resident Dennis Mulligan said to deafening applause. “It’s enough.”

To further prove his point, Mulligan led the charge to form a grassroots group – www.noairportinhorsham.org - to help build awareness of the cause. It started with 20 people and has since grown to include “a lot more,” he said.  Outside the meeting room, the group handed out some of the 1,000 outdoor signs they had made which bear the Web address.

“If I stood idly by and didn’t say anything and crashes occurred, I would feel terrible,” Mulligan said. “I’ve lived through the bizarre crashes.”

Mulligan and other residents have also expressed concerns about the runway being used for UPS or FedEx deliveries or for passenger flights.

In an interview prior to Wednesday’s Horsham Land Reuse Authority meeting, John Mininger, executive director of the Bucks County Airport Authority – one of two entities that submitted a – said the authority’s intent is to use the runway for general aviation, or “personal travel in aircraft and business travel in aircraft.”

Mininger said the authority, which operates airports in Doylestown and Quakertown, is also not interested in scheduled flights, which would require special certification.

“They are open 24/7,” Mininger said of general aviation facilities. “There’s not much activity at night, just like there’s not much activity on the roads at night.”

Mininger said it would be “interesting” to see a public referendum to gauge the opinions of the more than 26,000 Horsham residents as it relates to an airport.

“Certainly people who don’t want it are very vocal,” Mininger, of Quakertown, said. “I know a lot of people who are for it in Horsham Township.”

If the results of roughly 160 people who attended that HLRA meeting are any indication, establishing a civilian airport and aviation facility comes in dead last of eight redevelopment possibilities. The top survey picks were to expand the township’s tax base; create new open space and recreation areas; and attract new private investment.

While the possibility of an airport drew people out Wednesday, officials limited public comment to about 20 minutes. An airport, and any development at the base for that matter, is years away, officials said, with the earliest possible development beginning in 2014.

Once the 17 – or public use development proposals – are analyzed and community input is considered, the HLRA’s consultant, , will present the three best potential redevelopment options at a public meeting in July.

“You’re going to make your support for one of those,” Russ Archambault of RKG Associates said to those in attendance. “We have to evaluate all possible outcomes. We have to vet those … We’re not there yet, but that day is coming.”

As part of the redevelopment process, RKG will also analyze environmental conditions, existing infrastructure, traffic, and economic development impacts. Some of those conditions were presented Wednesday. The existing environmental conditions at the base are “very typical” of other military installations that have similar aviation uses, according to Eric Stahl of Weston Solutions, one of several consultants working with RKG.

Stahl said four sites within the 1,100-acre base property are undergoing studies to determine fixes for known groundwater contamination along Horsham Road; on the base’s fire training area and in its two landfills. The eight remaining sites are not likely to undergo further action, he said.

In terms of infrastructure, Jeff Donohoe, principal of an economic and real estate consulting services company, said, “The buildings are in as good a condition as they’re going to get.”

The Navy will be disconnecting heat, ventilation, electricity, water and wastewater once the property is vacated for good, which could be as early as mid-summer. Mold issues are likely to crop up, Donohoe said. On average, he said it would cost $30 to $75 per square foot to bring the facilities back online, and even then, “you’ll have a very low-end facility,” meaning demolition is likely.

Donohoe showed pictures of a building with paint peeling off the ceiling as a result of humidity issues, which he said were caused by four feet of standing water in the basement.

Following the existing conditions presentation, officials broke the audience into groups, representing economic development, transportation and environmental concerns. For the next hour, each group informally discussed such things as how traffic flow could be mitigated, how the environmental issues would impact redevelopment and which possible redevelopment options were preferred.

“Our general feeling was that people like the concept of a town center,” Archambault said. “It’s almost a main street.”

The mixed-use development – something Horsham Township Council President Mark McCouch has said he favored – could include dining, corporate employment and some type of housing.

Regardless of the ultimate outcome, David Pitcairn said following the meeting, that he hopes residents keep an open mind and listen to all alternatives.

“We need to go through this process,” said Pitcairn, a descendent of aviator Harold Pitcairn, who owned the airfield prior to the Navy’s acquisition. 

Staying involved

The next step for community involvement in the base redevelopment process is to attend the June 10-11 HLRA meetings, which feature an introductory presentation, a community planning exercise and consideration of concept plans. For more information visit www.hlra.org.