A new residents group asked Carroll County commissioners Wednesday to delay for six months their vote on the proposed airport runway expansion.

“There are numerous unanswered questions regarding the expansion, which the county commissioners and their representatives have refused to address,” wrote Concerned Citizens United, a recently formed organization, in a letter to commissioners.

“In addition, we are exploring legal remedies to protect the rights of property owners who reside near the airport. There are currently homeowners who are unable to sell their homes or lots.”

CCU requested that the vote be postponed from June 12 to Dec. 12 — an idea Commissioner Michael Zimmer called “ridiculous.”

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“This [proposal] has been hanging around for two years now,” he said. “We should make a decision.”

But Siniti Oneda, who co-chairs CCU with Robert Brink, said residents want more time to ask questions because they remain skeptical about the positive economic effects county-hired consultants predicted would result from lengthening Carroll County Regional Airport’s runway from 5,100 to 6,400 feet.

“All this talk about economic benefit, but when [consultant] Sage Policy Group predicts the addition of only 24 jobs in 20 years, you can imagine what the people who heard this, what their reaction would be,” Oneda said.

His wife, Victoria, suggested at last week’s public hearing that residents pursue a class-action lawsuit to receive “just compensation” for property values that residents expect will plummet due to increased pollution, traffic and noise.

Michael Waibel, senior airport planner for URS Corporation, another of the county-hired consultants, said Wednesday that property values around Frederick’s airport have “skyrocketed” since expansion plans were announced, perhaps because it signaled the county’s investment in an area.

CCU is the third residents group that has formed in response to the proposed expansion.

The anti-expansion Carroll Joint Neighborhood Association formed in April 2006, and the pro-expansion Westminster Pilots Association started this month. Siniti Oneda said he wants CCU to work with CJNA but also pursue more organized and aggressive action.

Commissioners Julia Gouge and Dean Minnich could not be reached for comment.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com