State Level

• Establish a moratorium on private landing areas until the state has had time to research and develop appropriate regulations for the sudden increased demand for private landing areas. Agricultural and working airstrips can be made exempt.

• The state government should develop clear requirements that towns must vote to approve or prohibit air strips, helipads, and drones; if they vote to approve, towns must zone for areas appropriate for private landing areas (safe, minimally disruptive to neighbors, minimal impact to wildlife and the environment, etc.)

• Rather than litter towns and the state with private landing areas, the state should require use of state and public airports within an hour of any proposed landing area, and only consider those that are more than an hour from an airport. These public facilities, run professionally for decades by the state, municipalities and private groups, have capacity and plans to address safety and noise issues, environmental impacts, and they serve a wider public. They are the most appropriate place for the state to channel private air travel needs.

• For restricted, or private, landing area applications, the State Board of Transportation reviews ground-related safety to determine if an aircraft can take off and land safely. They may also determine if the proposed landing area “serves the public interest” but, according to the Executive Secretary of the Board, “such interest is not well-defined”. The state legislature should develop clear criteria for determining the public interest. Public interest should include weighing the benefit of a private landing area to a single property owner against the cost to the community, in particular abutters; required assessment of the environmental impacts; impacts to other local businesses and property values; and potentially a requirement that at least 75% of abutters support the private landing area. The Board should form a committee to address issues raised by private air travel beyond safety, including impacts on abutters and the character of towns, the environment, property values, other businesses, privacy, and community values for peace, quiet, and beauty. This could include avoiding areas identified by other state agencies as priorities for conservation (e.g. Vermont Conservation Design).

• Municipalities should be provided with support from the state to consider private landing areas, including the implications of approval. There is a great deal of capacity required on the part of town officials and communities to make informed decisions, and the state could help build this.

• In support of this point, and the need for improved state legislation, the Vermont Airport Systems Plan (2021) recommends that the state of Vermont utilizes “existing legislation from other states as examples” and “provide notice and continuing guidance to local municipalities”. The state should step in and provide comprehensive research, planning and regulation of private air travel, and landing areas, including:

  • Research the impact of significantly increased private air travel, and private landing areas, and drones, on the safety, privacy, peace and quality of life of Vermonters, the natural environment, climate goals, and property values.

  • Undertake a process of public consultation to identify the priorities and concerns of Vermonters associated with private air travel and landing areas; this is an issue that impacts all Vermonters, and not only those who fly.

  • Evaluate the capacity of state airports to provide adequate landing space for private air travel, and if capacity is sufficient consider whether private landing areas within an hour of an airport are necessary at all.

  • If it is deemed necessary for the state to have private landing areas, draft regulations that address safety, environmental and public concerns, provide for public review and town-wide votes on private landing areas, and initiate a program to build capacity in regional planning commissions and town governments to address air travel and landing area issues.

  • Develop regulations for drone operations, and make it illegal to fly drones over other’s private property without permission.