Background Data: Merced Regional Airport and Environs
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Chapter 7 Background Data: Merced Regional Airport and Environs Merced County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan 7 Background Data: Merced Regional Airport and Environs OVERVIEW Merced Regional Airport/Macready Field is located in the City of Merced approximately 2.5 miles southwest of the city center. The airport is owned and operated by the City of Merced. The airport was built in 1928 and has historically been used for commercial and general aviation. Merced Regional Airport is the only airport in the County currently offering commercial airline service. EXISTING AIRFIELD SYSTEM Merced Regional Airport encompasses 450 acres and has a single paved runway (Runway 12-30) 5,914 feet long and 150 feet wide. It is designated as an Airport Reference Code (ARC) 1 C-III facility that can accommodate aircraft with wingspans of up to 118 feet (e.g., Boeing 737-700). The runway is oriented in a northwest/southeast direction. The original airfield system included a crosswind runway (designated 6-24) that has since been abandoned. Runway 30 is equipped with straight-in precision instrument approach capabilities providing visibility minimums of ½ statute mile. Runway 12 has nonprecision instrument approach procedures with visibility minimums of 1 statute mile. The size of the RPZ at each runway end is a function of the type of aircraft and approach visibility minimum associated with that runway end. The dimensions of the existing RPZ for Runway 30 are: 1,000 foot inner width, 1,750 foot outer width and a length of 2,500 feet. Approximately 75% of the existing RPZ is on airport. The portion of the RPZ located off-airport is covered by existing and future easements. The dimensions of the existing RPZ for Runway 12 are: 500 feet inner width, 1,010 feet outer width and a length of 1,700 feet. The Runway 12 RPZ is nearly all on airport. 1 Airport Reference Code (ARC) is a coding system defined by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to relate airport design criteria to the operation and physical characteristics of the airplanes intended to operate at an airport. Merced County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (Adopted June 21, 2012) 7–1 CHAPTER 7 BACKGROUND DATA: MERCED REGIONAL AIRPORT AND ENVIRONS AIRPORT PLANS Airport Master Plan Status The City of Merced adopted the Master Plan and Airport Layout Plan (ALP) for Merced Regional Airport in December 2007. The purpose of the plan was to determine the extent, type and schedule of development needed to accommodate future aviation demand at the airport. The principal change proposed for the airfield includes extending Runway 12-30 to the southeast by approximately 550 feet for a future runway length of some 6,460 feet. Likewise, the RPZ shifts southeast encompassing approximately 30 acres of private lands. An avigation easement is proposed for this area. Pertinent data regarding the airport is summarized in Exhibit MER 1 . A copy of the 2007 ALP is provided in Exhibit MER 2 . Basis of Merced Regional Airport ALUCP Since the 2007 ALP is from the recently adopted Master Plan, state law does not require that it be submitted to California Division of Aeronautics for acceptance. Nevertheless, the 2007 ALP was submitted to and accepted by the California Division of Aeronautics as the basis of the Merced Regional Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan on April 2011. Airspace Plan The 2007 Airspace Plan for Merced Regional Airport depicts the Federal Aviation Regulations (FAR) Part 77 imaginary surfaces for the airport’s single runway, Runway 12-30 (see Chapter 2, Map MER 2). The airspace surfaces reflect the ultimate runway length of 6,450 feet, an existing precision instrument approach to Runway 30 and an existing nonprecision approach to Runway 12. AIRCRAFT ACTIVITY DATA Existing Activity Merced Regional Airport is a commercial service airport, although it primarily serves general aviation aircraft. Current activity at Merced Regional consists primarily of touch-and-goes, as well as commercial and cargo activity. Scheduled airline service is provided by Great Lakes Airlines and consists of two daily commercial flights to and from Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The airline flies a 19-passenger Beech 1900 turboprop aircraft. Conversations with airport management indicate these flights are near capacity, and there is discussion of adding flights to another destination, possibly southern California (Ontario). Cargo service at the airport is provided by Ameriflight, a feeder cargo airline for the UPS Oakland regional hub. Ameriflight provides 12 departures per week (two on each weekday and one on each weekend day). Ameriflight flies Beech C99 turboprop aircraft. Current aircraft activity is estimated at approximately 53,300 annual operations. Military operations are primarily large twin turboprop aircraft, such as C130 transports, practicing instrument approaches at the airport. 7–2 Merced County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (Adopted June 21, 2012) BACKGROUND DATA: MERCED REGIONAL AIRPORT AND ENVIRONS CHAPTER 7 Activity Forecast The recently adopted 2007 Master Plan provides three forecast scenarios for year 2026 which uses base year 2004 data of 84,204 annual operations. The forecast assumptions for each scenario are noted below. Low Demand. The low demand scenario projects some 91,300 annual operations (0.4% average annual growth rate). It assumes that Merced Regional’s future air cargo role will remain as a feeder to a regional hub and that the airline fleet and passenger loads will remain constant over the forecast period. Baseline. The baseline forecast, which was selected as the preferred Master Plan forecast, projects some 110,400 annual operations (1.2% average annual growth rate). This scenario predicts that larger regional jet or turboprop aircraft (25-seats) will enter the fleet and will account for 20% of operations by 2026. High Demand. The high demand scenario estimates 134,100 annual operations (2.1% average annual growth rate). Like the baseline forecast, the high demand forecast assumes that larger regional jet or turboprop aircraft will enter the fleet by 2026. All three forecast scenarios assume that future general aviation activity will be driven predominantly by increases in based aircraft. The percent distribution of operations between local and itinerant is assumed to remain constant over the forecast period. Military aircraft operations are expected to remain relatively constant. The Master Plan’s preferred forecast of 110,400 annual operations is reasonable for long-range airport land use planning purpose. As such, the preferred forecast is carried forward to 2035 and is used as the basis of the Merced Regional Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. Exhibit MER 3 summarizes existing and future aircraft activity data for the Merced Regional Airport. Exhibit MER 4 depicts the noise contours and other aeronautical factors upon which the compatibility zones for the airport are based. Airport Environs Exhibit MER 5 shows a detailed summary of Merced Regional Airport’s existing (2010) and planned environs, including airport compatibility policies adopted by the local agencies (City of Merced and Merced County). The existing land use, planned land use, and zoning maps for each agency are provided in Exhibits MER 6 –Existing Land Uses, MER 7 –General Plan Land Uses, and MER 8 –Zoning Designations. An aerial photo of the airport is provided in Exhibit MER 9. As shown in the exhibits, the airport is currently surrounded by urban development to the north, east, and southeast, and agriculture to the west and south. There are also scattered rural residences and a small residential subdivision located within one mile of Runway 12. The adopted airport land use compatibility zones cover land under the jurisdiction of the City of Merced and Merced County. The local planning efforts by these agencies are summarized below. City of Merced On January 3, 2012, the City of Merced adopted the Merced Vision 2030 General Plan to replace its 1997 General Plan . The majority of the airport-related policies in the 2030 General Plan are focused on Merced Regional Airport, as the Airport is owned and operated by the City. The plan also includes several policies regarding the Castle Airport given its proximity to the city. Merced County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan (Adopted June 21, 2012) 7–3 CHAPTER 7 BACKGROUND DATA: MERCED REGIONAL AIRPORT AND ENVIRONS The City’s General Plan includes policies that require any development near Merced Regional Airport to be consistent with the Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. The plan also includes policies to protect the airport from incompatible uses, discourage residential development in clear zones, reduce noise impacts from the airport on surrounding uses, protect approach areas and control zones for both existing and future runway systems through land use regulations and property acquisition, and prevent the encroachment of potential hazards to flights within the airport's airspace.In addition, the City’s Zoning Ordinance restricts the height of structures within two miles of the airport. Merced County Merced County is in the process of updating the 1990 General Plan. The updated plan, called the 2030 General Plan, is scheduled for adoption in early 2012. The County is not anticipating any changes to existing land use designations near the airport as part of this update. The 1990 General Plan includes goals and policies that require projects to be compatible with the ALUC Policy Plan. The draft 2030 General Plan, in addition to requiring projects