Summary: Idaho residents are suing county commissioners for building an airport on Bruce Willis’ land.
Several Idaho residents are not happy with Bruce Willis and local officials. The Die Hard actor owns agricultural-zoned land in Camas County, and the local government has allowed the building an airport on top of it. The construction has allegedly been a burden on surrounding neighbors, so on January 25, attorney Ben Worst filed a lawsuit on behalf of several Fairfield-area residents.
Idaho Mountain Express reported that the plaintiffs stated that county commissioners illegally changed language in the county’s zoning ordinance in order to build the airport. Their lawsuit seeks an injunction against the enforcement of the new language as well as a halt to further airport construction.
Before the construction began, the citizens of the area questioned Willis’ intentions for building an airport with a 8,500 foot dirt runway, a length that is not industry standard. Months after, the local government held a public meeting, where former County Commissioners Barb Cutler, Kenneth Backstrom, and Ron Chapman amended a local ordinance to allow the building of private airports on agriculture-zoned lands. This move allowed Willis’ airport to be in compliance.
In the lawsuit filed by Worst, he stated that the county commissioners violated the Idaho Local Land Use Planning Act.
“Even though they were required to do so, they made no factual inquiry regarding how the amendments to the Zoning Ordinance might be in accordance with the policies set forth in the Comprehensive Plan,” Worst wrote. “Comprehensive Plan policies that the County should have considered include the preservation of ag land, ag activities, quality of life, public safety, wildlife migration corridors and water quality.”
Worst added that county commissioners failed to realize how the airport would affect local emergency responders who would need to be trained and equipped to handle airport accidents. He also said that the new ordinance language did not adequately address new issues that an airport could create such as regulating the size of hangars or defining the types of airplanes allowed to land.
The defendants of the case declined to comment, and Willis has not yet responded to why he wanted an airport built in the first place.
Photo courtesy of Deadline
Source: Idaho Mountain Express
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