Mark Twain was quoted as saying: “Buy land, they aren’t making any more of it.”
Fortunately, early leaders in Cedar Rapids heeded this advice and acquired a significant amount of land in the very southwestern portion of the city to create the Cedar Rapids Municipal Airport, now known as the Eastern Iowa Airport or CID.
This foresight has enabled the airport to own more than 3,000 acres of land, with approximately 2,000 acres contracted for farming and potential expansion.
Having enough land to expand and grow is part, and will continue to be part, of the airport’s success. A third runway is in the not-too-distant plans.
CID Airport Director Marty Lenss said airports across the country are littered with space and expansion challenges. This abundance of land gives the CID a competitive advantage.
And the success of the Eastern Iowa Airport and the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City Corridor region are dependent upon one another.
That’s why it is so important that developments near the airport be compatible with the airport’s land use and nearby airspace.
A natural gas-fired power station recently proposed by Alliant Energy near the airport’s planned third runway in Fairfax is simply inappropriate and counterproductive and should be scrapped for a more suitable location.
According to a recent article in the CBJ, the proposal involves construction of a natural gas-fired power plant with two combustion turbines and two condensing stacks, each estimated to rise 190 feet to 250 feet above ground level.
The new plant would be about three miles from existing airport runways, and less than two miles from a proposed third runway.
Mr. Lenss said the plant raises airport safety concerns on three levels – the height of the condensing stacks, potential vapor “plumes” stemming from plant emissions, and heated air emerging from the stacks that could cause turbulence for approaching and departing aircraft.
The airport is a unique economic engine for the entire region, and its central location makes it the perfect catalyst for more economic growth and regional cooperation.
This specific issue is ultimately a zoning issue for the City of Fairfax, which has followed City of Cedar Rapids zoning with regard to the airport and airspace.
Linn County and communities like Cedar Rapids and Fairfax, within a short distance of the airport, should modify their zoning ordinances to prevent these incompatible developments from happening so that the airport and its land use continues to be a regional economic driver.
If the proposed natural gas-fired facility continues to advance in Fairfax, then the Iowa Utilities Commission needs to do the right thing and prevent this new plant from being built.
