Contact: ancairportinfo@gmail.com
Adjacent Neighborhood Concerns
Adjacent Neighborhood Concerns
“Right development, wrong place”
This project appears to be under-planned and under-zoned for the only neighborhood directly adjacent to the airport that will take all the risks.
Is there any place around the airport with this much activity so close to housing?
Risks to the community must be clearly understood and communicated.
IC Alaska verbal commitments:
700-ft setback from Raspberry Road
Access road through South Airpark
Need to determine if commitment to access development will be through South Airpark and not directly from Raspberry Road.
Need to determine the status of the 700-ft setback commitment.
Airport and State of Alaska responsibility:
It will be the legal responsibility of the airport and State of Alaska if there are negative environmental impacts.
The airport and State of Alaska are responsible for answering to the community and addressing concerns.
Airport Community Outreach Plan:
- “establishes guidelines for effective two-way communication between the entities”
- “The Airport will make public comments and responses it receives reasonably accessible and available.”
Recommend airport share comments received on November 2020 public notice.
Impacts to nearby residents
High decibel noise pollution: Noise higher than 85 decibels is considered damaging to the human ear; large aircraft engines average 140 decibels when starting and taxiing, which will be directly across the street from residents for a minimum of 40 airplane events (arrival/departure) per day. This equals 14,600 events per year.
How many minutes for each event?
Will there be limits on how high engines can run during maintenance activities?
How high will the proposed berm be constructed? Will it be effective at absorbing/deflecting noise?
Recommend FAR Part 150 Noise Compatibility be updated.
Groundwater contamination risk: Groundwater contamination from fuel spills, de-icing fluids, storage of firefighting foam containing PFAS/PFOA nearby, and maintenance activities could adversely impact individual drinking water wells. There is known PFAS contamination at former Kulis Air National Guard Base on Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation contaminated sites database (https://dec.alaska.gov/Applications/SPAR/PublicMVC/CSP/SiteReport/26531). This is a public health risk.
Recommend airport, State of Alaska, and developer provide municipal water to replace wells.
Recommend updating groundwater study to understand hydrology in area.
Air pollution risk: There is increased risk of air pollution from storage and use of jet fuel close to homes and close to 1,500-acre Kincaid Park with world-class cross-country skiing, trails, and biking area.
PFAS risk: Will AFFF (aqueous film forming foam) be stored on the south side of the airport? This hazardous contaminant containing PFAS/PFOA can impact groundwater and surface water. They also can get airborne when the ground gets disturbed. Storage of this substance increases risk to nearby residents.
Recommend use of safer alternative.
Increased traffic risk: Traffic during and after construction would significantly increase on Raspberry Road. Construction of new roads further increases traffic.
Recommend an updated traffic study be done.
Economic impact to property values: Decreases in property values due to increased airport noise are documented. Has consideration been given to impacts to property owners?
Consider economic impacts to nearby property owners.
Quality of life impacts to residents: A balance is needed to find a balance between economic growth and quality of life for neighboring community.
Additional airport projects: There are four other large expansion projects at the airport going on simultaneously including:
(1) FedEx new sorting facility,
(2) UPS expansion,
(3) cold storage adjacent to FedEx,
(4) cargo aircraft parking on west side of NW runway.
The airport will also be updating its Master Plan, relocating the control tower, and expanding taxiway Zulu at the same time.
This scale of simultaneous expansion and development requires careful planning. Does the airport have the personnel to properly plan this level of expansion?
Emergency management and disaster preparedness planning: Has any planning been done to address emergency management and disaster preparedness on this side of the airport due to the increase in volume of aircraft? If so, this information would be important to share with nearby residents.
Recommend sharing emergency and disaster preparedness information with nearby residents.
Wildlife impacts: Have impacts to wildlife such as moose, lynx, bears, birds, coyotes, and other small mammals been addressed?
Zoning and building standards: Will this construction require changes to zoning? How will current building standards be incorporated? Will additional soundproofing be needed?