Executive Summary
Military Compatibility and Awareness Areas
A key strategy to guide compatible
development and activities without
overregulation is the establishment of
a series of Military Compatibility Areas
(MCAs) for the Seymour Johnson AFB JLUS
Study Area and Military Awareness Areas
(MAAs) for the Dare County Range JLUS
Study Area. The MCAs are geographic
areas surrounding Seymour Johnson AFB
where specific strategies are to be applied,
which may include regulatory approaches
to enhance existing compatibility actions
taken by the City of Goldsboro and Wayne
County. The MAAs are geographic areas
surrounding the Dare County Range JLUS
Study Area where specific strategies are
to be applied. These strategies exclude regulatory approaches to compatibility
due to the limited planning and land use
framework across this area. The total
geography of all MCAs for the Seymour
Johnson JLUS Study Area is the Military
Compatibility Area Overlay District
(MCAOD). The total geography of all MAAs
for the Dare County Range JLUS Study Area
is the Military Influence Area (MIA).
Military Compatibility
Area Overlay District
for Seymour Johnson
AFB JLUS Study Area The MCAOD for the Seymour
Johnson AFB JLUS Study Area
consists of five MCAs:
Coordination Military
Compatibility Area
The Coordination MCA is designed to
include land within a 5-mile radius of
Seymour Johnson AFB per House Bill 254
enacted by the North Carolina General
Assembly in 2013. This MCA is intended to
foster cooperation, communication, and
awareness by keeping County and City
leadership and property owners informed
of military operations that may impact
quality of life. Additionally, the leadership
at Seymour Johnson AFB can be apprised
of community actions that may impact
military operations.
Noise Military Compatibility Area
The Noise MCA includes all land located
off‐installation within Seymour Johnson
AFB noise contours greater than 65
decibels (dB) day‐night sound level (DNL)
associated with military aircraft activities.
Strategies within this MCA include limiting
the proliferation of noise-sensitive land
uses, incorporating noise level reduction
methods in the building construction
of noise-sensitive land uses to reduce
interior noise impacts, and addressing
nonconforming uses within the Noise MCA.
The establishment of MCAs and MAAs
ensures that the appropriate types of
strategies are applied to the appropriate
areas, and that locations deemed not
subject to a specific compatibility issue
are not adversely impacted by actions
inappropriate for their location or
circumstance.
Safety Military Compatibility Area
The Safety MCA would regulate
compatible land use types and
densities / intensities (non‐residential
land uses) within the Clear Zones (CZs)
and Accident Potential Zones (APZs) I and
II of the Seymour Johnson AFB runway.
The Safety MCA can be used to prevent
the development of incompatible land
uses in areas with the greatest potential
for an accident. Within the CZs, most
types of land use are incompatible with
aircraft operations. It is recommended
that no development be located within
CZs. Compatibility guidelines preclude
land uses that concentrate large numbers
of people (such as residences, apartments,
hospitals, churches, and schools) from
being constructed within the APZs. While
the likelihood of an accident is remote, the
Air Force recommends low density land
uses within the APZs to ensure maximum
protection of public health and property.
Bird/ Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard
Military Compatibility Area
The Bird / Wildlife Aircraft Strike Hazard
(BASH) MCA is a Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) recommended area
extending a radius of five statute miles
from the air operations area at Seymour
The MCAs and MAAs were designated to
accomplish the following:
w w Promote an orderly transition between
community and military land uses to
maximize compatibility
w w Promote and protect public health,
safety, and welfare
w w Maintain the operational capabilities of
military installations
w w Promote an awareness of the size and
scope of military operating areas
w w Establish compatibility requirements
within designated areas, such as
requirements for notification of
development to the military
n n Coordination MCA n n BASH MCA
n n Noise MCA
n n Imaginary
Surfaces MCA
n n Safety MCA
Johnson AFB. This MCA is includes areas
near the airfield with the highest safety
concern if concentrations of birds, wildlife,
or bird‐attractant uses were located there.
Bird and wildlife strikes with aircraft can
potentially result in the loss of life or
aircraft. Strategies for this MCA include
increased public awareness of bird and
wildlife attractants.
Imaginary Surface Military
Compatibility Area
The Imaginary Surface MCA is the area
defined by the FAA and Air Force Air
Installation Compatible Use Zone (AICUZ)
instructions for guidance on the height
of structures surrounding an airport or
airfield. The imaginary surfaces are a 3‐
dimensional geographic area comprising
approach and departure airspace
corridors and safety buffers. Vertical
obstruction heights are a major concern
for flight operations due to the potential
for a structure to extend into navigable
airspace, which could impede safe flight
operations and put both pilots and citizens
on the ground at risk of an ai rcraft mishap.
Vertical obstructions that can affect flight
safety include, but are not limited to,
cell towers, power lines, wind turbines,
buildings, and trees.
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