Arlington Municipal Airport Development Plan Arlington Airport Development Plan | Page 159
the updated guidance provided in AC 150/5300‐13A, Change 1, and Interim Guidance on Land Uses
within a Runway Protection Zone (9.27.2012)
If an airport cannot fully control the entirety of the RPZ, the RPZ land use standards have recommenda‐
tion status for that portion of the RPZ not controlled by the airport owner. In essence, this means that
the FAA can require a change to the runway environment so as to properly secure the entirety of the
RPZ. The FAA has always held that residences, businesses, and similar uses should be excluded from
the RPZ although this objective was not uniformly enforced. Objects such as public roads, however,
have always been allowed under previous guidance unless it posed an airspace obstruction. FAA’s cur‐
rent guidance does not readily allow for public roads in the RPZ.
As detailed on Exhibit 4C, the RPZs serving each end of Runway 16‐34 currently contain incompatibili‐
ties. The approach and departure RPZs north of the runway end extend beyond airport property and
over a portion of the outer road associated with U.S. Interstate 20. A large portion of property within
these RPZs is controlled through fee simple acquisition and an avigation easement. The RPZs encom‐
pass 1.68 acres of land currently not under some type of control mechanism.
On the south side of the runway, the approach and departure RPZs extend over Southeast Green Oaks
Boulevard. The outer portion of the departure RPZ extends beyond airport property but is contained
within an existing avigation easement. The Runway 34 approach RPZ extends even farther beyond the
end of the runway due to the instrument approach procedures providing visibility minimums of ½‐mile.
As such, 8.42 acres of the RPZ fall outside of airport property and the existing avigation easement to
include portions of Southeast Green Oaks Boulevard, South Collins Street, and approximately 9 resi‐
dential homes.
As previously discussed in Chapter Three, since the new RPZ guidance addresses new or modified RPZs,
existing incompatibilities may be grandfathered under certain conditions. For example, roads that are
in the current RPZ are typically allowed to remain as grandfathered unless the runway environment
changes. The airport sponsor should take reasonable actions to meet RPZ design standards, which
could include removing the residential homes from within the RPZ to the south of the Airport. The
public roadways could be considered acceptable since they have existed since before the RPZ stand‐
ards were published. Alternatives discussed later in this chapter will further evaluate the effects of
mitigating RPZ incompatibilities on the airfield system.
RUNWAY LENGTH
Runway 16‐34 is currently 6,080 feet long. Analysis in the previous chapter recommended that the De‐
velopment Plan consider a potential runway extension in order to support the needs of business and
air cargo jets that frequent the Airport on a regular basis. Several of these jets require additional run‐
way length, especially during hot weather conditions and/or under heavy loads. Many of these aircraft
are capable of operating at the Airport throughout most of the year, but will be weight‐restricted dur‐
Chapter Four - 13