Department of Aviation Dallas Love Field 8008 Cedar Springs Road, LB 16 Dallas, Texas 75235-2852
Mr. Michael OHarra Acting Regional Administrator Federal Aviation Administration, Southwest Region 2601 Meacham Boulevard Fort Worth, Texas 76137
RE: Dallas Executive Airport (DEA); Master Plan; and Airport Layout Plan (ALP)
Dear Mr. Duebner,
Our firm has been retained to represent ________________________ as interested community members regarding the airport Master Plan and ALP for Dallas Executive Airport.
As you know, previous communications to your office and agencies involved in these projects have included a detailed Demand to Comply with Federal Laws and Regulations related to federally funded ALPs along with an informal complaint to the FAA dated April 21, 2014, citing alleged violations of federal law. In particular, our clients concern is the complete lack of transparency and effort to include community members in the planning stages of both the Master Plan and ALP for DEA.
Media reports and picketing by community members regarding the expansion plans for DEA make it no secret that the community at large feels that they have been left out of the planning and decision making process for the runway expansion and other development plans for DEA. It has since become apparent that reasons initially given for the airport expansion were not fully disclosed. For example, the reason for the runway expansion was described as necessary to correct repair issues. It is now evident that the expansion was necessary to accommodate and attract the Commemorative Airforce Museum to DEA as part of a larger economic development project for south Dallas. This has left our clients with a sense of what comes next for development or possible annexation or further City action that has not been disclosed?
On April 10, 2014, our clients were made aware of a Memorandum from your office purporting to answer some questions by the community submitted to Councilmember Scott Griggs. In that memorandum your office described various public meetings and provided sign in sheets evidence the public meetings had been conducted.
It is evident that these public meetings were attended by insiders and were not reflective of any real outreach to the community.
The Memorandum and its attachments provide no evidence that any general outreach program was ever implemented to the community as a whole, but rather insiders such as city representatives, vendors, and airport tenants comprised the public in attendance at the meetings cited.
To say inclusion of the community occurred in the planning and development stages thereby meeting the Citys obligation to include the community is not substantiated by the facts given the scale of current public questions surrounding the Master Plan and ALP.
Notwithstanding all of the above, a meeting was recently held and attended by Tennell Atkins and Vonciel Jones Hill where attending community members were informed that the projects would be placed on hold and that the Master Plan would be revisited with the inclusion of an community advisory group within sixty (60) days. This community involvement should also be extended to the Airport Layout Plan.
Therefore, please consider this letter our clients request for the following:
1. Confirmation that implementation of the Master Plan and ALP will be placed on hold for a period of ninety (90) days; 2. Identify the specific process for formation of a Community Advisory Committee, including how committee members may be selected, the number of committee members, and how to apply for committee membership; 3. Identify and define the scope of the Community Advisory Committees role with your department, city officials, TxDot officials, others involved with the project; and 4. Set forth policies and procedures moving forward for notice to the community at large to conduct periodic town hall meetings, with question and answer sessions, to report on the activity of the Committee and the progress of the projects at large.
Please respond with the Department of Aviations proposal with respect to the above within seven (7) business days. You may direct all further communication with respect to our clients named herein to our office.
Please note that our office does not purport to represent the community as a whole, any specific neighborhood association, or citizen not named herein above and identified as persons interested in the Master Plan and ALP as members of the DEA community at large.