Kelsey Volkmann, The Examiner
2007-06-13 07:00:00.0
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WESTMINSTER, Md. -

Carroll County commissioners voted 2-1 Tuesday to approve a controversial airport expansion.

Commissioners Julia Gouge and Dean Minnich voted yes, citing a need for Carroll to develop its commercial and industrial tax base by luring more corporate jets to Carroll County Regional Airport in Westminster.

Commissioner Michael Zimmer voted against lengthening the runway. He said studies had not convinced him that the project would stoke the local economy.

“I cannot think of an issue in recent years that has had as much debate and controversy,” Minnich said. “This isn’t the first time people have stood up against economic development and it won’t be the last. The airport is not the linchpin for economic growth, it is a piece.”

Despite residents’ fears about noise, pollution and property values, Gouge said "Carroll's airport would never become a Baltimore-Washington International [Thurgood Marshall] Airport."

Zimmer defended his minority vote by saying he saw valid arguments on both sides of safety and quality of life issues, so the potentially negative environmental effects on air quality and wildlife influenced his decision.

Westminster should have been kept better informed of the project, Common Councilman Gregory Pecoraro said at Monday’s council meeting.

He also suggested that an advisory board of city representatives and residents be invited to make recommendations during the next step: a two-year environmental study. The study is expected to cost about $750,000, with the Federal Aviation Administration paying 95 percent, and the Maryland Aviation Administration and the county splitting the rest.

“We want to make sure residents will be a part of the environmental study,” said Siniti Oneda, co-chairman of Concerned Citizens United, an anti-expansion residents group.

CCU tried to obtain a temporary injunction Monday in Carroll County Circuit Court to delay Tuesday’s vote. But Judge Barry Hughes said the group did not have adequate legal grounds, Concerned Citizens United co-Chairman Robert Brink said.

A county-hired consultant said the expansion would cost $56 million, with the FAA paying 95 percent of eligible projects, such as the runway; but the Carroll County fiscal year 2008 budget includes more than $70 million for the expansion.

kvolkmann@baltimoreexaminer.com