The next Airport Master Plan Open House will be held tonight at 5:30 PM in the Newport City Hall Council Chambers. This open house will be an opportunity to learn more about plans for the Newport Municipal airport.  The planning team will be on hand to describe the various alternatives under discussion with the Planning Advisory Committee.

There will be exhibits showing potential changes to the airfield, runways, taxiways, and aprons- some of which may be quite extensive -and order of magnitude costs. Layout concepts are based on the forecasts discussed previously during the planning process. The open house will show potential zoning and land use needs for the next 20 years. From the PAC and Open House decisions, the planning team will shape the final alternative and build a list of capital improvement projects to address over the next 15 to 20 years.

The city of Newport has been working on an Airport Master Plan Update to reassess Airport issues, needs, priorities, and goals. As part of the project, aeronautical activity forecasts will be prepared to determine the Airport’s needs over a 20-year planning period and alternatives for meeting those needs will be developed. The end result will be a FAA approved forecast, Airport Layout Plan, and Capital Improvement Plan. A master plan was last completed for Newport Municipal Airport in 2003.

The Master Plan Update study involves several tasks to be undertaken in an estimated 18-month time frame. Those who wish to voice their concerns, opinions, or preferences for the future of the airport are encouraged to come to the open house tonight between 5:30 and 6:30 PM at Newport city hall. Those who are not able to make it to tonight’s meeting can view additional information online at the cities website at www.newportoregon.gov.