Airport Expansion Opposition Update
Update 1/15/25 After years of advocacy and dedicated community efforts, Ann Arbor and Pittsfield Township residents have achieved a significant victory against the proposed expansion of the Ann Arbor Airport’s primary runway. To honor this hard-fought victory, Pittsfield Township and Washtenaw County are hosting a celebratory event on Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 5:30 PM at the Pittsfield Township Administration Building.
On December 2, 2024 the Ann Arbor City Council rejected moving the project forward by a vote of 8-3. This decision marks the culmination of a long-standing effort by citizens, community leaders, and local organizations to preserve the character, safety, and environmental integrity of the areas surrounding the Ann Arbor Airport. The event will provide an opportunity to reflect on the determination of those who worked tirelessly to ensure the community was heard.
“This victory is a testament to the power of community advocacy,” Washtenaw County Commissioner Caroline Sanders, District 4. “Over the past four years I have continuously heard from my constituents on their strong opposition to the airport expansion, and I have worked with fellow elected officials and community leaders in Pittsfield Township and Ann Arbor to prevent it. This event is not just a celebration of a vote but of the dedication, passion, and consistency that made it possible.”
The celebration will feature remarks from local leaders, light snacks and refreshments, and the chance for community members to come together to recognize this significant milestone.
“This celebration is an outcome of a true partnership between residents and local officials working together,” Pittsfield Township Supervisor Trish Reilly. “The dedication shown by our residents over the years is a perfect example of local officials listening, and then partnering, to successfully act in the community’s best interest.”
Pittsfield Township Administration and the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners invite all residents to join in this celebration.
Event Details
What: Ann Arbor Airport Celebration Event
When: Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 5:30 PM
Where: Pittsfield Township Administration Building 6201 W. Michigan Ave Ann Arbor, MI
For more information about the event, please contact:
Mia Herd
734-822-3135
herdm@pittsfield-mi.org
“This victory is a testament to the power of community advocacy,” Washtenaw County Commissioner Caroline Sanders, District 4. “Over the past four years I have continuously heard from my constituents on their strong opposition to the airport expansion, and I have worked with fellow elected officials and community leaders in Pittsfield Township and Ann Arbor to prevent it. This event is not just a celebration of a vote but of the dedication, passion, and consistency that made it possible.”
The celebration will feature remarks from local leaders, light snacks and refreshments, and the chance for community members to come together to recognize this significant milestone.
“This celebration is an outcome of a true partnership between residents and local officials working together,” Pittsfield Township Supervisor Trish Reilly. “The dedication shown by our residents over the years is a perfect example of local officials listening, and then partnering, to successfully act in the community’s best interest.”
Pittsfield Township Administration and the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners invite all residents to join in this celebration.
Event Details
What: Ann Arbor Airport Celebration Event
When: Tuesday, February 4, 2025, at 5:30 PM
Where: Pittsfield Township Administration Building 6201 W. Michigan Ave Ann Arbor, MI
For more information about the event, please contact:
Mia Herd
734-822-3135
herdm@pittsfield-mi.org
Update 1/3/25 On Monday night, Dec. 2, the Ann Arbor City Council voted 8-3 AGAINST a proposal to accept MDOT grant funding to begin preliminary planning and design work on expanding the primary runway at Ann Arbor Municipal Airport.
That effectively kills -- at least for now -- the 17-year-old effort to expand the runway.
We give real credit to Mayor Taylor and the super majority of Council members, many of whom spoke eloquently about the importance of being sensitive to the concerns of neighbors and Ann Arbor residents -- many of whom wrote and spoke in opposition.
Thanks to YOU -- for the support of all CPCQ backers, the Stonebridge Community Association, and our great partners in the Pittsfield Township government, our long-time partners in opposing the runway expansion. Collectively, we have done it!
We'll all sleep a bit better right now.
Thanks and Regards,
Kathe Wunderlich and Andy McGill
That effectively kills -- at least for now -- the 17-year-old effort to expand the runway.
We give real credit to Mayor Taylor and the super majority of Council members, many of whom spoke eloquently about the importance of being sensitive to the concerns of neighbors and Ann Arbor residents -- many of whom wrote and spoke in opposition.
Thanks to YOU -- for the support of all CPCQ backers, the Stonebridge Community Association, and our great partners in the Pittsfield Township government, our long-time partners in opposing the runway expansion. Collectively, we have done it!
We'll all sleep a bit better right now.
Thanks and Regards,
Kathe Wunderlich and Andy McGill
Update 11/15/24 Andy McGill of the Committee for Preserving Community Quality (CPCQ) has written an article on the risks and costs of the proposed airport expansion. Most important, What Can You Do?
Update 8/11/24: Mandy Grewal and Andy McGill will be appearing on the Lucy Anne Lance show, at 1290 am, WLBY on Monday 8/12/24, at 9:10am to discuss the Pittsfield CPCQ lawsuit against the city and MDOT
Ignoring more than a decade of vehement public and citizen opposition, on October 16, 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) approved the 3,476-page Environmental Assessment (EA) for the proposed expansion of Ann Arbor Municipal Airport. The finding of no significant environmental impact (FONSI) and the Record of Decision (ROD) now permit the Ann Arbor City Council to vote on whether the airport’s current 3,505-foot runway should be extended to 4,225 feet, adding 720 feet to the western end of Runway 6 / 24 and shifting another 150 feet from the east to west end of the runway.
That brings the runway almost three football fields closer to busy Lohr Road, which landing aircraft would cross at just 49 feet above passing cyclists on the adjacent non-motorized Lohr-Textile Greenway bike path. However, the EA’s printed 100-page narrative tells only the positive half of the story, with the other critical half of the story buried deep in the remaining 3,500 pages of Appendices, which contain facts airport expansion advocates would just as soon people not know.
In response to the FAA-MDOT irresponsible EA-FONSI approval, kept under wraps by airport officials until it was publicly revealed six weeks later, on December 15, Pittsfield Charter Township and the grassroots Committee for Preserving Community Quality (CPCQ) filed an appeal in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit against the U.S. Department of Transportation and its Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the FAA and its Administrator Michael Whitaker, and MDOT and its Director Bradley C. Wieferich, to block the deeply flawed EA / FONSI.
To read the basis for the filing, please click on CPCQ Position Paper, composed by Andy McGill.
To read a description of the risks and costs, please click on CPCQ Lawsuit Filed, also by Andy.
To send comments and questions to the CPCQ, email to Communitypreservation09@yahoo.com.
Thank you,
Kathe Wunderlich
CPCQ
CPCQ