Anti-airport group invites public to event this Monday, November 14

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A citizens’ advocacy group working to stop consideration of building an airport in Thurston County is holding an open meeting this Monday, November 14.

“Stop the Thurston Airport” announced that its community meeting will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Grace Community Covenant Church in Olympia (see inset map for location).

The agenda includes updates about the proposed airport, plans to mobilize and ways for residents to get involved.

The group will also host a Q&A session to allow attendees to air their concerns. Flyers and fact sheets will be handed out.

Stop the Thurston Airport was launched on October 17 by Dawn Sonntag, who lives in the middle of the proposed airport site in central Thurston County.

The group said it rejects airport noise and traffic, pollution caused by commercial development, and the destruction of the county’s environment.

The controversy stems from a report submitted to the state legislature by the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission, which recommended one location in Thurston County and two others in Pierce County as possible sites for an airport. The full report is attached to this story. 

The Thurston County site is located southeast of Olympia, with the southern portion overlapping with the westernmost area of Joint Base Lewis-McChord (JBLM). The Pierce County sites are located 4.5 miles east and 2.25 miles south of JBLM.

Stop the Thurston Airport previously said it had plans to work with the Coalition Against Graham and Eatonville-Roy Airports, which similarly stands against the proposed airport sites in Pierce County.

On October 24, the Port of Olympia Commission voted to endorse a letter opposing a new Thurston County airport (see RELATED story).

“The prospects of an airport expansion will exponentially increase the loss of agricultural lands and put at risk the balance our residents have worked hard to maintain with our natural environment,” stated the letter penned by the Thurston County Board of Commissioners.

The letter was also signed by the mayors of Olympia, Lacey, Tumwater, Yelm, Tenino, and Rainier.

Comments

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  • JulesJames

    We can cost-effectively add capacity by improving Paine Field in Snohomish. The Combat Heritage Museum and Boeing widebody manufacturing on-site already make this airport tourist destination. Yelm Airport? Expensive. Noisy. Traffic clogged. A concrete cow pasture until SeaTac is complete gridlock. Then it will be a tolerated second choice for travelers and the first to lose marketshare to increased passenger rail.

    Saturday, November 12, 2022 Report this

  • OlyCitizen

    I'll vote against your airport plans just as soon as you build me a light rail station in Olympia!

    Saturday, November 12, 2022 Report this

  • jhender

    This story says that the full report by the Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission is attached. It is not. It can be found here:

    https://wsdot.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-10/Commercial-Aviation-Coordinating-Commission-Published%20Report-October2022.pdf

    Saturday, November 12, 2022 Report this

  • UrsulaEuler

    Thank you to the Jolt for being community friendly. It is one of the few public outlets that have not sold out to greed. Aviation is the noisiest and dirtiest transportation mode of all. The industry is stuck in its business model of encouraging frequent and cheap flying, when it should do full-plane-full-fare [no-better-option]-flying and lend its full support to climate cooling. The industry and government push sustainable fuels and electric flying like heck, but for commercial applications it is a tough tough nut to crack. It needs much more time and let the industry implement it first at existing facilities. Then we can talk about expansion again. And, no more subsidies, special exceptions and huge grants. It has disincentivized aviation innovation, and with record profits and the enormous stock buybacks in the last few years, they can pay their own way.

    Saturday, November 12, 2022 Report this

  • DStusser

    @jhender - please note that the full CACC report is attached to the story. On a desktop/laptop, the link is shown just below the map to the meeting location, to the left of the fourth paragraph of the story. On a smartphone, the link is below the story, just below the map. In both cases, look for "ATTACHMENTS" in bold black type.

    Monday, November 14, 2022 Report this

  • jhender

    @DStusser ... Oops.

    Tuesday, November 15, 2022 Report this