Hatboro May Take Stance on Proposed Airport

Hatboro officials may join the growing list of neighboring municipalities that have banded together to at Willow Grove Naval Air Station.

 At its committee meeting Monday, the council, at the request of Hatboro-Horsham School Board, discussed the possibility of adopting a resolution similar to one adopted recently by the , , Warminster and Montgomery Township officials to oppose airport use., as well as the have submitted applications for use of the base's 8,000-foot-long runway.

The Hatboro council directed its solicitor, Michael Savona, to draft a resolution to be considered at the June 20 meeting, but not before discussing whether Hatboro should have a say over land in Horsham, why the school board – and not Horsham – made the request to borough officials and whether the economic benefits of an airport should be weighed against purported cons.

Councilman Bill Tompkins said the issue is one to be decided by the Horsham Land Reuse Authority – the entity charged with drafting and approving locally a redevelopment plan for the 892 acres up for grabs once the military ceases operations on Sept. 15. Once the HLRA approves the yet-to-be-crafted plan, it would be sent to the Department of Defense for final approval. 

“I don’t know that we have enough information to say we prefer one or the other,” Tompkins said, adding that the economic benefits should be considered.

Councilman John Zygmont, however, like most vocal , argued that public safety and aircraft noise trumps any economic advantages.

“What economics is going to come into play if a plane comes down on Keith Valley Middle School?” Zygmont asked. “The government bringing airplanes in and out of there versus private aircraft going in and out of there is a big difference in my mind.”

Others, including two residents at the meeting, inquired as to why the school board – which on the base property – had requested that the council adopt a resolution opposing the runway. When reached Wednesday, Horsham Township Manager Bill Walker said he had planned to reach out to Hatboro regarding borough support for the anti-airport resolution, but that the school board had “beat me to it.”

Councilwomen Nancy Guenst and Patty Fleming said Horsham doesn’t tell the borough what to do with its property, so the borough should not give Horsham its two cents on the air base tract.

But, unlike Hatboro’s downtown along York Road, for instance, the 1,100-acre air base is federally owned, not locally owned or locally controlled, Savona pointed out. So, even though the land is within Horsham, the property does not belong to the township, which is why representatives from Bucks and Montgomery counties, as well as local elected officials and individuals representing various segments of the population – from the school district to the business community - sit on the HLRA board.

“Now’s your opportunity,” Savona said of the council’s voice in the airport versus no airport debate.