Hundreds of trees near the Carroll airport will be chopped down to make way for a lighting system, after the county maneuvered around an environmental protection easement, officials said.
The trees have stood at the center of the contested runway expansion, which commissioners approved last summer to lengthen the runway 1,300 feet to 6,400. Westminster residents opposed the longer runway, saying it would bring more noisy planes soaring over their houses.
Chief of Staff Steven Powell rejected in November cutting down the trees, but he said the decision could be sidestepped by moving the easement to another section of the forest.
“All along they disregarded the input from the citizens of the county,” said Robert Brink, a Westminster resident who opposesthe runway expansion. “It seems like it?s in preparation for expanding the airport.”
The county, however, has insisted that the lights were planned before the runway expansion was considered to improve safety for incoming planes.
All the trees on about 1 1/3 acres at the airport will be razed and select others from about 7 1/2 acres will be cut under the county?s plan, officials said.About 330 trees are to be cleared, officials have said, but more than 1,400 will be planted at nearby Hashawha Environmental Center to make up for the loss.
It is unclear when the trees will be cleared, said Cindy Parr, the county?s chief of administrative services.
“It?s more than unfortunate that the commissioners don?t go along with what the people want,” Brink said. “They?re elected representatives; they?re supposed to represent what the people want. And the people don?t want this.”
