Residents in Lincoln, Vermont, renewed their opposition Monday to a proposed 900-foot private airstrip at the home of eVTOL company BETA Technologies CEO Kyle Clark. About 75 people attended a community meeting on the project, according to local WCAX.
The strip is not a BETA Technologies project and is intended for the Clarks’ personal use, including recreation and commuting, according to earlier reporting and court records. Opponents of the strip have raised concerns about aircraft operating near homes and trees in the mountainous area, along with potential effects on the town’s rural character.
Permit Fight
Clark first sought local approval for the personal landing area in 2022. After the town denied the application, Clark and his wife, Katie, appealed. A Vermont Environmental Division court decision last year found that a graded, grass 900-foot strip could meet the town’s conditional-use requirements if operations were limited to a maximum of two takeoffs and two landings per day. The court also ruled that an ungraded version could qualify as an accessory use without the daily limit.
“We have concerns about public safety, aircraft operating in and around a 900-foot runway down a hill in a valley in a mountainous region with unpredictable winds and weather,” Lincoln resident Michael O’Connor told WCAX.
Neighbors hired an aviation safety consultant this summer and have sought a public hearing before the FAA, state transportation officials and the Vermont Transportation Board.
State Decision Pending
“The FAA has deemed the landing area safe and permissible,” the Clark family said in a statement released Monday. “And, the Vermont Agency of Transportation completed a site inspection and deemed it safe, and recommended approval to the Transportation Board.”
The Clarks said they have followed the required permitting and safety-review process for more than four years. Vermont Transportation Secretary Joe Flynn told WCAX that the application has completed the applicable reviews and appeals and now rests with the Transportation Board. The board is expected to issue its final decision in the coming weeks.
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