Airport Land Use

Airports are a unique type of land use and require many considerations that are very different than most others. Safety, for aviators and those on the ground, is the first and foremost consideration in airport planning. The most notable considerations in planning airports are: the sheer volume of space that is needed for even small airports and the separation from populated areas, such as residential or commercial developments.

To this end, the Office of Aeronautics works with land use planners throughout the state to guide compatible development around airports. One important tool that has been granted to the Office of Aeronautics is review of development  within an airport's area of influence (area of influence is the area within the 'imaginary surfaces' surrounding an airport) and the power to clear obstructions from critical areas around public-use airports .

Imaginary Surfaces: Areas around an airport defining the height restrictions needed to ensure safety, as defined by FAR 77 . The most critical of these is the RPZ or Runway Protection Zone, which is based upon the maximum approach angle that an airplane can take when landing. The Imaginary surfaces form a bowl-like shape around each runway: high at the outer edges and descending as it approaches the runway.