Runway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users’ Guide (2016)

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56 C H A P T E R 7 The FAA states that the mitigation of risk within the RPZ is “best achieved through airport sponsor control over RPZs. Control is preferably exercised through the acquisition of sufficient property interest in the RPZ and includes clearing RPZ areas (and maintaining them clear) of incompatible objects and activities” (FAA AC 150/5300-13A, 2012). Based on this description of an airport sponsor’s responsibilities, mitigation of risk in the RPZ requires two steps to be taken: • Airport sponsor must secure control of the RPZ • Airport sponsor must manage the RPZ property to remove all above-ground structures and obstacles and keep the area clear of structures and obstacles 7.1 Securing Control of the RPZ Several strategies can be used to secure total or partial control of the RPZ, including property acquisition, purchase of development rights, purchase of avigation easements, runway threshold displacement/relocation, and land use regulation. Property Acquisition Acquisition of property in fee simple, which involves the full purchase of land and the improve- ments thereon, is the most direct means of achieving control of property. The acquisition of all land within an RPZ by the airport sponsor enables the sponsor to clear the land of incompatible structures and land uses and to ensure that the land remains clear of structures so as to reduce accident risk to people and property on the ground. Airport sponsors generally attempt to purchase property with the voluntary cooperation of the seller. Depending on State law, airport sponsors may be empowered to use eminent domain to secure ownership of RPZs, since control of the RPZ directly promotes a compelling public purpose, namely, public safety. Acquisition of Development Rights The ownership of land includes the ownership of a bundle of rights to the use of the land. It is possible to separate and transfer any of those rights without conveying the complete title to the property. An airport sponsor may purchase the rights to develop land within the RPZ for urban land uses while allowing the property owner to retain title to the land and the right to use the property consistent with the safety requirements in an RPZ. The property owner, for example, could be allowed to continue farming the land, or the property owner could maintain the property as landscaped open space adjacent to commercial or office development. The major RPZ Risk Mitigation Strategies þÿRunway Protection Zones (RPZs) Risk Assessment Tool Users  Guide Copyright National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.