2020 -- S 2547 AS AMENDED

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LC004935

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     STATE OF RHODE ISLAND

IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020

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A N   A C T

RELATING TO AERONAUTICS -- AIRPORTS AND LANDING FIELDS -- AIRPORT

ZONING

     

     Introduced By: Senators Sosnowski, McCaffrey, DiPalma, Seveney, and Archambault

     Date Introduced: February 25, 2020

     Referred To: Senate Judiciary

     It is enacted by the General Assembly as follows:

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     SECTION 1. Sections 1-2-3 and 1-2-3.1 of the General Laws in Chapter 1-2 entitled

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"Airports and Landing Fields" are hereby amended to read as follows:

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     1-2-3. Acquisition of land.

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     (a) The department of transportation may, with the approval of the governor, and subject

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to the provisions of chapter 6 of title 37, acquire, by purchase or condemnation, any land or any

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estate or interest in land, including airspace within this state that it may deem necessary for a

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suitable airport, or glanding field, or to preserve or maintain approach, but in no event shall the

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department obligate the state in excess of the sums appropriated for that purpose. No land or estate

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in this state owned and used by any railroad company shall be taken by condemnation under this

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chapter until after a hearing before the public utilities administrator of this state and until the

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consent of the public utilities administrator to the taking is given.

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     (b) No airport, landing field, or any runway or approach zone shall be enlarged or extended

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in any city or town unless the assistant director for airports, or his or her successor or other person

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or officer exercising his or her functions, filed in the office of the city or town clerk of the city or

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town in which the expansion is proposed a plan drawn to scale showing the existing airport and

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runways; the planned extensions or lengthening of the existing runways; any and all public

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highways crossed by the extensions; and lots and parcels of land within a one-mile distance of the

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proposed extensions; together with a delineation of any approach zone required by the extension

 

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and an identification of every parcel of land that requiring a taking in order to accomplish the

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extension together with a brief statement describing the work to be undertaken in extending the

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runway. The plan and statement shall be filed at least twelve (12) months before any physical

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construction work begins on any extension of runway or airport expansion.

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     (c) The assistant director for airports shall also, at the time plans are filed with the clerk,

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file a notice in a newspaper having general circulation in the city and town setting forth that the

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plan has been filed in the office of the city or town clerk and giving notice to the residents of the

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city or town of the proposed runway extension or airport expansion.

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     (d) The plan and statement shall be open to public inspection in the office of the city or

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town. A public hearing shall be held in the city or town at least six (6) months prior to any

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construction on the proposed runway or airport expansion by the assistant director at the time and

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place in the city or town set forth in the notice referred to in subsection (c).

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     (e) The governor has the authority in any emergency declared by him or her to authorize

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the enlargement or extension of any runway notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter.

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     1-2-3.1. Airport, landing field, and runway defined Airport, landing field, runway,

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and approach defined.

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     As used in this chapter:

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     (1) "Airport" or "landing field" means any area of land designed and set aside for the

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approach, landing, and taking off of aircraft and utilized or to be utilized in the interest of the public

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for those purposes. An airport is publicly owned if the portion used for the landing and taking off

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of aircraft is owned, operated, controlled, leased to or leased by the United States, or any agency

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or department of the United States, this state or any other state or any municipality or other political

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subdivision of this state, or any other state, or any other governmental body, public agency or other

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public corporation.

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     (2) "Approach", "approach zone", "approaches" means any airport land and airspace as set

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forth by the Federal Aviation Administration and Code of Federal Regulations in Title 14 Code of

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Federal Regulations Part 77 - Safe, Efficient Use, and Preservation of the Navigable Airspace.

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     (2)(3) "Runway" means that portion of an airport or landing field designed or set aside for

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use by aircraft in landing, taking off, or taxiing or moving of aircraft on the ground. A runway shall

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be construed to include any projection or extension for use as an approach zone, and approaches as

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set forth in § 1-3-7.

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     SECTION 2. Sections 1-3-2 and 1-3-4 of the General Laws in Chapter 1-3 entitled "Airport

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Zoning" are hereby amended to read as follows:

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     1-3-2. Definitions.

 

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     As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

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     (1) "Airport" means any area of land or water, or both, designed and set aside for the

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approach, landing, and taking off of aircraft and utilized or to be utilized in the interest of the public

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for those purposes. An airport is "publicly owned" if the portion used for the landing and taking off

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of aircraft is owned, operated, controlled, leased to or leased by the United States, or any agency

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or department of the United States, this state, or any other state, or any municipality or other

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political subdivision of this state, or any other state, or any other governmental body, public agency

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or other public corporation.

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     (2) "Airport corporation" means the Rhode Island airport corporation.

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     (3) "Airport hazard" means any electronic transmission device or structure, which, as

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determined by the federal aviation administration, interferes with radio communication between

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airport and aircraft approaching or leaving the airport, or any structure or tree or use of land which

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obstructs the airspace required for the flight of aircraft in landing or taking off at any airport or is

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otherwise hazardous to the landing or taking off of aircraft.

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     (4) "Airport hazard area" means any area of land or water upon which an airport hazard

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might be established if not prevented as provided in this chapter.

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     (5) "Obstruction" means any tangible, inanimate physical object, natural or artificial,

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protruding above the surface of the ground.

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     (6) "Person" means any individual, firm, co-partnership, corporation, company,

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association, joint stock association, or body politic, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee or

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other similar representative.

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     (7) "Political subdivision" means any city or town or any other public corporation, authority

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or district, department, or any combination of two (2) or more, which is currently empowered to

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adopt, administer and enforce municipal zoning regulations or to purchase or condemn pursuant to

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§ 1-2-3.

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     (8) "Structure" means any object constructed or installed by humans, including, but without

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limitation, buildings, towers, smokestacks, and overhead transmission lines, including the poles or

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other structures supporting the object.

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     (9) "Tree" means any object of natural growth.

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     1-3-4. Airport approach plans.

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     The airport corporation shall formulate, adopt, and revise, when necessary for planning, an

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airport airspace plan for each publicly owned airport in the state. Each plan shall indicate the

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circumstances under which structures and trees are, or would be, airport hazards; the area within

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which measures for the protection of the airport's navigable airspace, including aerial approaches,

 

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should be taken; and what the height limits and other objectives of those measures should be. In

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adopting or revising any airspace plan, the airport corporation shall consider, among other things,

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the character of flying operations expected to be conducted at the airport; the traffic pattern and

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regulations affecting flying operations at the airport; the nature of the terrain; the height of existing

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structures and trees above the level of the airport; and the possibility of lowering or removing

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existing obstructions. The airport corporation may obtain and consider the views of the agency of

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the federal government charged with the fostering of civil aeronautics as to the aerial approaches

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and other regulated airspace necessary to safe flying operations at the airport.

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     SECTION 3. This act shall take effect upon passage.

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EXPLANATION

BY THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL

OF

A N   A C T

RELATING TO AERONAUTICS -- AIRPORTS AND LANDING FIELDS -- AIRPORT

ZONING

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     This act would add the terms "approach" and "approach zones" to mean airport land and

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airspace as defined by the FAA.

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     This act would take effect upon passage.

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