Deer Valley Airport houses more than 1,250 general aviation aircraft, a number expected to climb to nearly 2,200 by 2025. Additionally, annual operations, which counts the number of takeoffs and landings including touch‑and‑go maneuvers, could increase from more than 340,000 to 628,000.

“The way to get the most capacity is to build a third parallel runway,” said Steve Benson, principal with Coffman Associates. A Regional Airspace System plan developed by the Maricopa Association of Governments indicated a 4,500‑foot runway south of the future extension of Pinnacle Peak Road would increase annual operations by as much as 250,000 takeoffs and landings.

Benson recognizes runway design is limited by encroaching industrial development on the west side of the airport and land ownership, as portions of the proposed third runway lie outside the current airport property line. Additionally, four hillsides to the east would need to be shortened by up to 200 feet for pilots to safely descend. The cost for purchase and removal could run between $15 million and $40 million.

However, a third runway will apparently not take flight.

“We determined through the analysis that it’s not needed,” said Karen Apple, project manger with the City of Phoenix Aviation Department. Therefore, the possibility of a third runway is not advancing through the planning process.

Public concerns focused on design issues for increasing capacity using the airport’s two runways along with current and projected facilities. Planners proposed alternatives for airside and landside development, and each alternative is designed to fit within the airport’s 165 acres that remain undeveloped.

One option removes and grades eight feet of the major runway to meet runway safety standards. It also removes a hillside on the east end and grades the surrounding area to give pilots additional padding for landings. Landside changes include moving the T‑hangars from the south side of the airport to the north and turning the south side to corporate aviation use.

A second option removes the same portion of the major runway and adds 1,575 feet to the east end of the secondary runway. Benson said this alternative would allow larger planes, which  might currently experience wait times for use of the major runway, to use the secondary one with less of a wait. The option also removes a hillside to the east. Landside plans add new corporate aviation parcels and hangars on the north side.

The third alternative maintains the existing configuration of the major runway and makes minimal changes to the secondary one. On the ground, it redevelops aircraft storage on the south side for additional airport services.

“What’s probably going to happen is a hybrid of all these alternatives,” Apple said. She expects the recommended concept to also reflect input from the public, the Planning Advisory Committee and the city.

In addition to the design, some members of the public asked about noise pollution, which will be addressed in an environmental overview presented during the final public workshop in the fall. Arizona Revised Statutes requires the airport to publish a Public Airport Disclosure map identifying land uses in the air traffic pattern. A majority of the immediate land use is industrial, but the map identifies everything from open space and low‑density residential to commercial and industrial.

Planners will prepare a recommendation for Deer Valley Airport’s use, development and operation in addition to a financial plan before hosting a final public information workshop this fall. The Airport Master Plan is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2006.

For more information on the Master Plan, go to www.deervalleyairport.com. For comments or concerns about the plan, contact Airport Planning at http://phoenix.gov/EMAIL/emcontactpln.html or (602) 273‑3340.

Reach the reporter at ambria@thedesertadvocate.com.