It makes no sense to build a residential property so close to Hamilton-Owens Airport

During the Sept. 15 City Council meeting there was a heated exchange regarding a proposal by Stratus, a property developer from Athens, Ga., to rezone a property from commercial to residential.

The developers discovered a swath of unused land in Columbia that they want to develop into 90 upscale, two-story townhouses.

This property is on a two-lane road that begins as Superior Street at Rosewood Drive and goes southeasterly to become Commerce Street; it stops abruptly at the end of a 5,002-foot airport runway that is used for landing and taking-off at Jim Hamilton-LB Owens Airport.

On the south side of the proposed townhouses is the Norfolk Southern Railroad switching yard where boxcars — with colorful graffiti on the sides — are loudly coupled into freight trains that are ready to travel cross-country carrying loads to markets far away.

This railroad switching yard runs parallel to the airport runway.

For years the major industry in this corridor has been Seaco Asphalt Emulsions, a company that makes asphalt, a byproduct of crude oil production.

Seaco produces liquid asphalt, and tanks of asphalt and related chemicals stand upright on the Seaco property just one lot down from Stratus’ proposed townhouses.

It was during a windy day on Nov. 22, 2005 when a massive explosion of these Seaco tanks, caused by a maintenance crew using welding torches, led to an industrial fire that destroyed surrounding tanks and damaged company buildings.

Because there were no residences on the southwest side of Commerce Street, there was no danger to families.

The explosion rattled several nearby homes across the street, but no lives were lost.

An industrial corridor

This is an industrial corridor, by design, with no residential property allowed, and zoned by the City of Columbia, rightfully so, for commercial use only.

The runway at the Hamilton-Owens airport was built to create a flight path for single and multi-engine aircraft including jet airplanes — and as a reliever airport for Columbia Metropolitan Airport in Lexington County in case of an emergency.

The flight paths at airports are clear of residential property by design, so as not to disturb adults and children in homes with the loud noise of aircraft engines.

The flight paths must also be designed so that in the unlikely event that if an aircraft must make an emergency landing away from he runway — or if it simply crashes — it would affect as few properties and individuals as possible.

Safety is key

In aviation safety is the primary objective in flight and over and around any airport.

Every airport, including Columbia Metro Airport, must assure the Federal Aviation Administration that the property surrounding the airport — as well as the property under the flight paths to and from the airport — will remain commercial areas without homes and families.

In fact, the failure of an airport manager to protect existing property may lead to a loss of federal funding for future airport projects.

The original airport, Owens Field Municipal Airport was created in 1929 by an agreement between the city of Columbia and Richland County.

The county agreed to donate 140 acres to the city to allow for two X-configured runways and a hangar with an airport office, with the surrounding land acting as a safety and sound barrier.

In 1984 — due to concerns about the safety of residents who were living under or near the flight paths of the two intersecting runways — the airport destroyed its two original runways and built the existing single east-west runway.

If Hamilton-Owens Airport continues without residential property in its flight path corridor, it can continue to be a safe, quiet and valued resource serving the city of Columbia.

Emerson Smith is a sociologist and president of Metromark Research. He is also a clinical research assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine. A commercial pilot, Smith is a commissioner on the Richland County Airport Commission.

This story was originally published September 22, 2020 at 9:03 AM.