The end is near for the plan to upgrade the Heber Valley Airport. The Heber City Council voted 4 to 1 on Tuesday to approve a design for a wider runway that’s farther from the nearby highway.
The council’s vote to send the design to the Federal Aviation Administration was the second-to-last chance for the city’s elected leaders to approve the upgrade plans or halt them.
The study has brought out contrasting opinions about the private airport in public meetings over the years, especially recently.
While some approve of the proposal to make the airport safer, others in late 2022 and early 2023 asked if an upgrade would bring in more planes. Some feared more air traffic would worsen Heber’s quality of life with more noise and pollution in the sky. They also said more planes would increase the risk of plane crashes at local buildings, such as the high school.
Councilman Mike Johnston said growth has increased the number of planes in the valley. He said he approved the plan to shift and widen the runway Tuesday because it meets the FAA’s safety and legal requirements.
“We have constant, steady growth of very high-end properties, wealthy property owners moving here, wanting to buy up properties in Summit County, Wasatch County — Tuhaye, Victory Ranch, Red Ledges, Deer Crest, Promontory,” Johnston said. “These individuals tend to own jets, or they fly on private jets, and so that has caused the growth of jet traffic at our airport.”
He also said time is up, and it’s time for the city to move forward.
“Since about 2015, maybe 2013, we have become non-compliant in our airport layout, because of the number of those private jets — C-II-class planes — land here,” Johnston said. “The FAA requires us to then make the runway safer for these faster planes. It doesn't mean we're making the runway thicker for heavier planes or that we're making the runway longer for bigger planes; it means we're widening the clear zones on the runway, we're widening the runway, so that if these planes land and move to the sides, hopefully they don't get injured or they don't run into the highway or run into the hangars and people at the airport.”
Councilwoman Yvonne Barney was the only one of the five council members to vote no. She said she didn’t disagree with upgrading the airport but wasn’t convinced the design provides a safe flight path for planes traveling above people’s homes.
“I'm not against the master plan,” she said. “I do think that with everything, that it might be the best way for us to go at this point. I do feel that this is something that has been kind of forced upon this particular council, forcing us to make decisions, and I would like to say, kind of unfair, but it has to be addressed, and I understand that. At least for me, it's just there's too many questions for the safety, and I would really like to have those addressed.”
Project manager Jeremy McAlister of T.O. Engineers told council members the portion they voted on Tuesday focused mostly on the safety of the runway for jets when they land and take off. He said when they vote on the full master plan in April, there will be more to consider about how the upgrades will impact noise, pollution and safety in the Heber Valley.
Wasatch High School sits beneath the path many flights take into and out of the airport. In response to questions about whether the school is safe from potential crashes, McAlister said the new runway would be built 700 feet farther from the high school. He said that meant planes will fly higher above it as they approach the airport or fly away.
According to Heber City Manager Matt Brower, the goal is to submit the master plan to the FAA by May 1. Even if the FAA approves Heber’s master plan this summer, construction of a new runway likely won’t begin for 10 to 15 years. He said the FAA wants the airport to get the full possible life out of its current runway before building a new one.
Footage of the full meeting is available at heberut.gov.
