Kern County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan
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4.9.3.2 Avigation Easement Dedication The owner of any property proposed for development (general plan amendments, zone changes, land division activities, new and modifications to existing use permits, site plan reviews, planned development reviews) within all Compatibility Zones (refer to Figure 4-4 IA), will be required to dedicate an avigation easement to the East Kern Airport District. 4.9.3.3 Other Flight Hazards New land uses (or the expansion of existing land uses) with activities which may produce hazards to aircraft in flight shall not be permitted within the Mojave Airport's influence area, as depicted on Figure 4-41. Specific characteristics to be avoided include: (1) Glare, distracting lights, or light patterns which could be mistaken for airport lights; (2) Sources of dust, steam, or smoke which may impair pilot visibility; (3) Sources of electrical interference with aircraft communications or navigation; (4) Any use, especially landfills and certain agricultural uses, which may attract large flocks of birds, except in the Zone E; and (5) Any light or series of lights which may cause visual discomfort or loss of orientation during critical phases of flight. (6) Any future project with the capability of generating extended periods of airborne dust and particulate matter which may become a hazard within the Mojave Airport area of influence shall reviewed by the East Kern Airport District. Applications should include construction and operational information in sufficient detail to allow an impact analysis to be completed. Mitigation measures may be required as part of project review. (7) Commercial and/or industrial development at the new SR-58/Business 58 interchange and SR-58/SR- 14 interchange in the Mojave Specific plan shall specifically be reviewed for the following concerns: a) glare and distracting lights, b) sources of dust, steam, or smoke which may impact pilot visibility, and c) height and location of signs and structures. 4.9.4 Compatibility and the Mojave Specific Plan The proposed Mojave Specific Plan will be developed in conformance with the Kern County Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan. All land use changes must be consistent with ALUCP. 4.9.5 Mojave Airport – Influence Zone E (1) Influence Zone E1 indicates areas where development may have a significant impact on airport operations and flight safety, and as such shall have the following applied to all projects within it: (a) Development that could potentially attract large flocks of birds should implement best management practices to abate bird attraction to the development. (b) No structure or earthen formation shall exceed 100 feet in height above ground level. Private and public generator tie-in lines, collector lines and transmission lines are exempt from this requirement and subject to review on a case by case basis. (2) Influence Zone E2 indicates areas where development may have a lesser impact on airport operations and flight safety, yet still represent an area of concern for the Mojave Air and Space Port. As such development shall have the following applied to all projects within it: (a) No structure or earthen formation shall exceed 415 feet in height above ground level unless the East Kern Airport District provides evidence that the location of the specific structure(s) that exceeds said height is compatible with Mojave Air and Space Port flight operations. Airport Land Use Compatibility Plan 4-79 Appendix G 002215.NU21.02-B3018 FINAL Air Installations Compatible Use Zones Study Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake, California April 2011 Prepared for: UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Southwest San Diego, California Prepared by: ECOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENT, INC. 368 Pleasant View Drive Lancaster, New York 14086 Executive Summary The issue of incompatible land use adjacent to military air installations is a grow- ing concern to the Navy. The increase of incompatible land use and development around airfields, generally referred to as encroachment, has the potential to seri- ously constrain an installation's mission capability. At the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake (NAWS), land development in ar- eas adjacent to Armitage Airfield has increased in recent years. Fortunately, this growth has not yet resulted in serious constraints on the NAWS mission. The op- portunity still exists to proactively manage surrounding land use development to meet the growth needs of local communities and protect the sustainability of the NAWS mission through the implementation and maintenance of compatible land use policies and practices. This Air Installations Compatible Use Zones (AICUZ) Study highlights this op- portunity and offers recommended strategies and planning tools that can be ap- plied by local agencies to promote compatible land use development before en- croachment becomes a serious problem at NAWS. The study examines various planning parameters related to aircraft operations, noise, and safety, and provides an analysis of land use compatibility in both on- and off-base properties. An AICUZ study was prepared and approved for NAWS in 1977 and updated in 2007. Kern County and the City of Ridgecrest evaluated the AICUZ recommen- dations and enacted compatible land use provisions into their zoning ordinances and General Plan documentation. NAWS maintains a positive relationship with local agencies and anticipates being able to work with local authorities to accom- plish similar coordination and adoption of the results and recommendations of this 2011 AICUZ study update. AICUZ studies should be updated when an air installation mission is modified, has a significant change in aircraft operations (i.e., the number of take-offs and landings), a change in the type of aircraft stationed and operating at the installa- tion, or changes in flight paths or procedures. The 2007 AICUZ study adopted a shift of departure tracks 14D1, 21D1, 26D1 and 32D1 west of the Jacks Ranch Road “consolidated departure alternative.” Since the 2007 AICUZ study was completed, the aircraft mix projected to be stationed at NAWS, noise modeling assumptions, and operations modeled for their contribution to noise at NAWS have changed. Both the 2007 AICUZ and the 2011 AICUZ study update model 02:2215.NU21_02-B3018 i 20110207_ChinaLake_AICUZ 02 10 11.doc-2/11/2011 Executive Summary the operational tempo —a 25% increase in airfield and range flight operations— as the preferred operational scenario analyzed in NAWS' Environmental Impact Statement for Proposed Military Operational Increases and Implementation of Associated Comprehensive Land Use and Integrated Natural Resources Man- agement Plans, completed in 2004 (hereafter referred to as the 2004 EIS). Since the 2007 AICUZ was completed, several noise studies have modeled operational changes at NAWS. ■ A November 2008 noise study modeled Baker Range sorties, one-to-one re- placement of the EA-6B Prowler with the EA-18G Growler, the introduction of the F-35 Lightning II (JSF) aircraft, a reduction of FA-18C/D “Legacy” Hornet and AV 8B Harrier aircraft operations, as well as a 25% increase in Armitage Airfield flight operations. This noise study also modeled the ground around NAWS as “acoustically hard” in order to more accurately reflect the desert surrounding the airfield. The hard-packed desert terrain/ground in the vicinity of Armitage Airfield is closer in impedance to the "acoustically hard" than "acoustically soft" impedance model setting. Soft impedance is primarily for grass-covered ground. ■ The August 2009 noise study incorporated the changes modeled in the No- vember 2008 noise study as well as the updated noise profiles for the F-35 air- craft and updated flight profiles and also modeled noise dispersion around de- parture flight tracks and noise at more points surrounding NAWS. The currently adopted 2007 AICUZ study requires updating because of the changes modeled by the November 2008 and August 2009 noise studies and the updated F-35 Lightning II noise profiles and altered flight tracks. The changes in aircraft type and numbers, noise modeling assumptions, and operations influence the noise contours and accident potential zones (APZs) of NAWS. Baker Range covers 121 square miles (313 square kilometers) in the western por- tion of North Range. Baker Range is used primarily for test and evaluation (T&E) and training for air-to-surface weapon systems (e.g., rockets, bombs, guns), but also supports weapons system software validation, weapons ballistics, fuse functioning, and pilot proficiency in air-to-surface weapons delivery. Most bombs, rockets, and gunnery used on Baker Range are inert; however, high explo- sive (HE) ordnance can be dropped on B1-A and B-2 target areas. ES.1 Safety This 2011 AICUZ study defines standard APZs and evaluates other key issues associated with flight safety in and around Armitage Airfield. In addition to the traditional APZs immediately surrounding the runways, the study addresses safety concerns within the flight route corridors used by aviators for approaches and de- partures to and from the airfield (defined as the Military Influence Area [MIA]) and the Baker Range sorties. 02:2215.NU21_02-B3018 ii Final ChinaLake_AICUZ 04-11-11.doc-4/12/2011 Executive Summary ES.2 Noise The 2011 AICUZ study update reports the results of the February 2010 Wyle Noise Report, WR 08-08R (Wyle Laboratories, Inc. 2010). The 2010 noise study was initiated to investigate the noise contributions of the F-35 and to evaluate the technical modeling assumptions of the noise