Crews began clearing an area including about 330 trees near Carroll County Regional Airport on Monday after residents dropped a move to block the cutting.
“We decided against it after weighing the options. And I guess the clients decided that, with limited funds and the possibility of other issues coming down the line, to reserve funds for another fight,” said Paul De Santis, an environmental lawyer hired by Westminster residents Rebekah Orenstein and Mary Kowalski.
They hired De Santis and G. Macy Nelson, lawyers at Nelson?s Towson firm, because they believe the county is cutting down the trees to make way for a runway expansion. County commissioners approved expanding the runway from 5,100 feet to 6,400 in a 2-1 vote last summer to expand the county?s industrial and commercial tax base.
An expanded runway would bring increased noise and traffic, which would lower neighbors? quality of life, residents say.
The county, however, said the trees were being cleared for a lighting system that lets pilots better see the runway as they land ? a safety measure unrelated to the expansion.
“This airport is an excellent aviation facility that all parties should be very proud to have in their community,” airport manager Joe McKelvey said.
The county will plant about 1,400 trees at the nearby Hashawha Environmental Center to mitigate the clearing, according to county plans.
Meanwhile, the county hired Delta Airport Consultants Inc. to carry out an environmental study for the runway expansion, which is under way and could take about 18 months to complete, McKelvey said.
De Santis said he could bring legal action as the process progresses.
“The initial call was look, there?s going to be an environmental assessment being done for the expansion of one of the runways; it makes sense to wait for that assessment,” De Santis said. “It?d be a shame to chop down those trees and have the expansion not be necessary.”
