City of Geneva v. Du Page Airport Authority

550 N.E.2d 261, 193 Ill. App. 3d 613, 140 Ill. Dec. 625, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 97
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedJanuary 26, 1990
Docket2-89-0303
StatusPublished
Cited by8 cases

This text of 550 N.E.2d 261 (City of Geneva v. Du Page Airport Authority) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
City of Geneva v. Du Page Airport Authority, 550 N.E.2d 261, 193 Ill. App. 3d 613, 140 Ill. Dec. 625, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 97 (Ill. Ct. App. 1990).

Opinion

JUSTICE WOODWARD

delivered the opinion of the court:

Plaintiffs, the City of Geneva, the City of Batavia, the City of St. Charles, and the Village of Wayne, filed a seven-count complaint seeking a declaratory judgment and quo warranto relief against the defendants, the Du Page Airport Authority (DAA), the Fox Valley Airport Authority (FVAA), and their commissioners and officers. Specifically, the plaintiffs sought to have Public Act 84 — 1473 held unconstitutional. Three counts of the complaint were withdrawn, and the case went to a bench trial on the four remaining counts of the amended complaint. After hearing evidence, the trial court entered a final judgment in favor of the defendants and against plaintiffs on all four counts of the complaint as amended. Plaintiffs appeal.

Plaintiffs raise the following issues on appeal: whether Public Act 84 — 1473 is unconstitutional as special legislation; whether Public Act 84 — 1473 is unconstitutional as a violation of the equal protection clause of the Illinois Constitution; whether Public Act 84 — 1473 automatically dissolved the FVAA; whether the general obligation bond issued by the DAA is void; whether sections of Public Act 84 — 1473 are void for vagueness; and whether the Village of Wayne has the right to approve all extensions of runways of the Du Page Airport pursuant to section 1731 of the Aviation Facilities Expansion and Improvement Act (49 U.S.C. §1731 (1982)). In addition, the defendants raise the issue whether plaintiffs have standing to challenge the constitutionality of Public Act 84 — 1473.

The Chicago metropolitan area regional airport system presently consists of the primary “hub” airports, O’Hare, Midway, and Meigs, owned by the City of Chicago, seven “reliever” airports, and the Joliet Park District Airport, a general aviation airport. There are also private airports in the six-county area. One reliever airport is located in each of the five “collar” counties, and two reliever airports are located in suburban Cook County. These seven airports handle the overflow from O’Hare, as well as regular commercial service! The four primary reliever airports of concern here are: Du Page, Palwaukee, Aurora, and Waukegan.

While serving similar functions, there are notable differences in these facilities. For example, at 4,000 feet, Du Page has the shortest runway of the four reliever airports. The shorter runway restricts the airport’s capacity and reduces its safety margin. Due to its shorter runway, the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has designated Du Page as a general utility airport, while the other three are designated transport airports. The distinction means that the Du Page Airport cannot handle aircraft as large as the other primary reliever airports.

Both the Du Page Airport and the Palwaukee Airport have less sophisticated instrument landing systems than the other two primary reliever airports. As a result, they have higher landing mínimums, which restrict their capacity and lower their safety margin.

As for the number of operations (takeoffs or landings) at each airport, in 1987, there were approximately 221,000 operations at Du Page, 218,000 at Palwaukee, 142,000 at Aurora, and 95,000 at Waukegan. In addition, in 1987, there were 526 aircraft based at Du Page; 279 aircraft based at Aurora; 460 based at Palwaukee; and 267 air-' craft based at Waukegan. The demand at Du Page and Palwaukee is higher than at the other primary reliever airports because they are closer to O’Hare Airport.

The business use of an airport is measured by itinerant (aircraft landing at Du Page Airport that did not originate there), as opposed to local, operations. During 1987, Du Page had 109,000 itinerant operations, Palwaukee had 125,000, Aurora had 47,000, and Waukegan had 36,000 itinerant operations.

The areas of comparison of greatest concern in this appeal are those of compatibility with the surrounding land use and opportunity for expansion. Certain land uses are more compatible with the operation of an airport than others. Agricultural use is the most compatible, while residential use is the least compatible. Incompatible land use limits the usefulness of an airport. The land uses surrounding the four primary reliever airports reflect four distinct stages of urban encroachment. Palwaukee Airport is surrounded by mixed-use development, including residential, commercial, and industrial. Waukegan Airport is on the verge of being surrounded by residential land use. Du Page Airport has residential and industrial land uses along its western and eastern boundaries, but open land to the south and north of the airport. The current flight patterns of the Du Page Airport are concentrated over the residential and industrial developments to the east and the west. The Aurora Airport is surrounded by farmland.

According to Roger Barcus, bureau chief of airport administration, Department of Transportation (DOT), an airport needs to acquire as much land as possible so that it can control the development around it. Each of the four primary reliever airports faces different problems in acquiring land. The Palwaukee Airport is hampered in growth by the price of the land surrounding it, some $150,000 or more an acre. The Waukegan Airport is surrounded by noise-sensitive residential use. The Aurora Airport has ample opportunity to expand since it is surrounded by farmland selling for approximately $6,000 per acre. Du Page has open space to the north and south. Due to the urban growth in the Du Page area and the rising costs of land acquisition, it is important for Du Page to act now in acquiring additional land.

Prior to 1974, the Du Page Airport was owned by Du Page County. When Du Page County announced plans to expand the airport, the FVAA was formed under “An Act in relation to airport authorities” (the Municipal Airport Authorities Act or Act) (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. ISA, par. 68.1 et seq.) as a municipal airport authority. The original FVAA board consisted of seven commissioners, one each appointed by the municipalities of Geneva, St. Charles, Batavia, and West Chicago, and three appointed by the State legislators representing the legislative districts which encompassed the FVAA territory.

The FVAA was authorized under the Act to issue general obligation bonds and levy an airport tax within the limits set in the Act. By 1986, the income from field operations approximately covered the cost of operating the airport. Approximately 77% of the taxes levied for the corporate fund and the bond issue for purchase of the airport was collected from Kane County taxpayers in Batavia, Geneva, and St. Charles townships. By 1987, the FVAA had a property-tax base of approximately $732 million, which resulted in tax revenues of $250,000 per year, and a bonding limit of $5.49 million.

Airport improvements, on the other hand, are funded under program priorities established by the FAA on a national basis and the DOT on a State basis. The FAA has established the following priorities for the use of Federal funds: safety projects, preservations projects, standard projects, upgrade projects, and capacity projects. Under the DOT 1989-92 program, the distribution of Federal and State funds will be allotted as follows: safety and preservation, 32%; standards, 39%; upgrade, 8%; and capacity 31%.

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Bluebook (online)
550 N.E.2d 261, 193 Ill. App. 3d 613, 140 Ill. Dec. 625, 1990 Ill. App. LEXIS 97, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/city-of-geneva-v-du-page-airport-authority-illappct-1990.