College opposes expansion

Airport expansion contested by community, college

The jet planes are not yet skirting the heads of Oberlin residents, but they're coming closer. A group of residents have banded together to fight the threat of increased air traffic in the Oberlin area.

In the winter of 1997, a county proposal to expand the Lorain County Regional Airport runway from 5,000 to 7,000 feet came to the attention of local citizens, who held an open meeting with county commissioners on the subject. Over 130 people gathered in New Russia township in January of 1998, and an overwhelming majority were vocal against the proposal.

The College, OSCA and Kendal lawyers have come together as a legal alliance in opposition to the airport expansion. This is seen as a major step forward in increasing community involvement in the decision-making. Each drafted letters to the county commission demanding information about the progress in early December.

Proponents of the expansion say that it will allow the airport to attract cargo jets and thereby bring in revenue to the already economically floundering airport.

Opponents say the expansion will cause significant environmental problems on the wetlands surrounding the airport and the land below the flight path. The cargo jets will also be much louder than the smaller planes the airport now supports.

Commissioners promised to keep the citizens informed and involved in the planning process. According to many concerned citizens, they have not.

Since the summer of 1998, a group called "Citizens Concerned about Airport Expansion" has been meeting monthly, trying to find out just what is going on with the proposal, but it has been a futile struggle.

"This has really revealed a flaw in the county government. Commissioners are not sharing information with others," Oberlin resident Nancy Roth said. "People are very earnest about having the county flourish, but they don't have a clue about long term environmental issues."

"We're pretty much in the dark," said Ken Sloane, who sits on the Oberlin City Council and is the Director of Piano Technology at Oberlin College.

County Commissioners voted unanimously in early April to purchase the service provider at the Lorain County Community Airport. The airport was purchased from Midwest Air in May, at a cost of $1.796 million.

According to Stephen Douglass, member of the CCAE, the three county commissioners have big plans for the northwest corridor of Lorain County beyond the airport expansion. He suggested that there were plans to expand Route 58 (Oberlin's Main Street) to a four lane highway which would serve as a north-south route between I-80 and I-90. This, along with a new rail line, would open up shipping routes.

Ron Twinning, Transportation Improvement District member, has created the Land Use Planning Committee to help plan out the development. Professor of Environmental Studies David Orr will sit on the transportation division of the committee. He said, "They have no coherent land use plan. They don't even know where the airport fits in, and yet they've already started planning it." He sees the planning committee as a step in the right direction, however.

In early April, after meeting with County Commissioner Michael Ross, President Nancy Dye was able to appoint Professor Emeritus George Andrews to the Lorain County Port Authority, a group of five people that will deal specifically with the expansion. This was a major step gaining direct College representation in the process.

"We will now have a voice in the group of people who will be making the major decisions," said Al Moran, vice president of college relations.

Former Dean of the Conservatory Karen Wolff expressed her concern for the potential noise pollution that would fill the air above the Oberlin Conservatory. "It is for us. It is for now. With the stroke of a pen we could be put out of business. Can you imagine hearing a concert and hearing these [cargo jet] noises behind you," she said.

"Noise pollution degrades the quality of life for everyone, in addition to the music," said Dye.

"I think this is a major issue for the College. What major college has a freight airport three miles away? How can we compete?" asked Orr.

Students have also become involved in the process of opposing the expansion. College sophomore David Lewis, Project Coordinator of Environmental Studies Brad Masi, college junior Chuckie Kamm and college junior Amy Wolf planned and carried out a protest rally opposing the expansion.

"The rally was organized to express concern, both on the part of the town and college, about how an airport expansion would degrade the quality of life for the community and erode the attractiveness of Oberlin College and, especially, the Conservatory of Music," said Masi.

At a County Commissioners meeting in December, Commissioner Michael Ross referred to the participants of the rally as "uninformed dissidents" reacting "emotionally" to a non-issue. Even if true, Masi says Ross missed the point of the rally.

"These supposedly uninformed dissidents... organized the event as an opportunity to express concerns in a public assembly about an issue that will dramatically impact the quality of life not just of Oberlin, but of Lorain County," he said.

"If these are 'uninformed and dissident' viewpoints as Commissioner Ross would have you believe, then so be it. It is our imperative as participants in a democratic society to have recourse over the issues that will affect our communities," Masi said.

Opposition: Students protest the expansion. (photo by Pauline Shapiro)