Lincoln County planners this week will consider allowing a private airstrip in an Etna subdivision but some ranchers are opposed.

The planning and zoning commission will host a hearing about granting a conditional-use permit for a grass landing strip 2,000 feet long and 45 feet wide. The meeting will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the Cokeville Town Hall, at 110 Pine St.

The county’s planning staff is recommending approval of the airstrip, which would be located on Double L Ranch, north of Freedom. The ranch is accessed from County Road 108 and Flywater Trail, a private road. According to its Web site, the 400-acre Double L Ranch Club is along 1.8 miles of Salt River frontage and at the base of Caribou National Forest.
According to a planning staff report, the airstrip complies with Lincoln County’s land-use rules. It also would not “substantially impair or change the appropriate use of neighboring property and will serve the public need, convenience and welfare.”

Because the airstrip would be private, the Federal Aviation Administration does not have siting criteria.

The FAA wrote in a letter in March that it has no objection to the private airstrip.

Planning staff also said the landing strip poses no safety issues.
“Much of the flight path for the proposed airstrip would be over undeveloped agricultural land,” the staff report states. “Other than the potential hazard that could arise from a low-flying aircraft and the residences in the area, no extreme hazards exist.”

Several neighbors object to the proposal, though, saying cattle operations would be harmed.

Theodore Smith wrote that landing strips already in Alpine and Afton are sufficient to meet the community’s needs. Smith wrote that planes taking off from the proposed airstrip would have to fly over his home on Aimes Hill, which already is under the flight path for planes flying between Salt Lake City and Jackson.

The proposed area borders the No. 1 Hereford ranch in the state and a dairy farm, Smith wrote. Both have experienced problems associated with low-flying planes “buzzing” cattle.

“At a time when we hear repeated cries for the need to sustain our agricultural heritage in Star Valley,” Smith said, “it seems unreasonable that our county official would even entertain a request to place these agricultural operations at risk.”

In a joint letter to the county, Verne Crook, Jackie Thompson and Bryan Perkes, who all own livestock businesses that board the location of the proposed airstrip, said it will harm their operations.

“Livestock-based businesses continue to disappear from Star Valley due to population pressures coupled with less than favorable market conditions,” they wrote. “It seems everyone is interested in maintaining our area’s agricultural heritage, yet few people step forward to help protect those agriculturally based businesses still operating here.”

They questioned the need for the airstrip since a recently renovated airport is less than seven miles from the property.

Moreover, they said, Double L Ranch has enough land to operate an airstrip that would impact only property in that subdivision.

“Perhaps they should be landing and taking off over the houses in their own subdivision rather than our cows and calves,” the three wrote.

A representative for the development could not be reached for comment Monday.