City of Cloverdale – Alexander Valley Resort Airport Land Use Compatibility

cloverdale

Project Profile

Project Name: City of Cloverdale – Alexander Valley Resort Airport Land Use Compatibility

Client: City of Cloverdale, CA

Purpose: Johnson Aviation was hired to provide an analysis of the compatibility of a proposed development project called, the Alexander Valley Resort, with the nearby Cloverdale Municipal Airport (O60) for the City of Cloverdale. The development project occupies approximately 267 acres fronting on Asti Road, between the east side of the road and the Russian River, north of Runway 14. The land use proposed for the development is comprised of resort, residential, open space, and commercial.

California airport land use compatibility concerns fall under two broad headings identified in state law: noise and safety. These concerns are expanded in the 2011 California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook, which further divides these basic concerns into four functional categories for purposes of formulating compatibility policies and criteria. These categories are:

  • Noise: As defined by the exposure to noise attributable to aircraft operations.
  • Overflight: As defined by the annoyance and other general concerns arising from routine aircraft flight over a community.
  • Safety: As defined by the protection of people on the ground and in the air from accidents.
  • Airspace Protection: As defined by the protection of airspace from hazards to flight.

Tasks: As part of the analysis, Johnson Aviation provided updated information on the progress of Airport development and operations at O60 since the completion of the most recent Cloverdale Municipal Airport Master Plan Update. The Master Plan was completed in 2005 and revised in 2007. The current conditions of Airport facilities, planned construction, operations, and related forecasts were critical elements for defining and assessing future land use compatibility. Johnson Aviation also compared the airport land use plan prepared for the Airport (CALUP) in 2001 with the most recent 2011 California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook, as many guidelines and recommendations had changed.

Outcome: Based on aircraft safety, noise and other land use compatibility considerations, Johnson Aviation concluded that approval and construction of the Alexander Valley Resort Project would not result in a significant safety hazard to future residents or visitors. Although the Project proposed a number of dwellings within a portion of the CALUP’s Inner Turning Zone (ITZ) that exceeded density requirements in the current CALUP, it was determined that the CALUP was out of date and not consistent with the recommendations in the 2011 California Airport Land Use Planning Handbook and the forecast operations and operational patterns in the Master Plan.

Reference: David Kelley – dkelley@ci.cloverdale.ca.us