Flowers Mill Associates v. United States

23 Cl. Ct. 182, 1991 U.S. Claims LEXIS 190, 1991 WL 84393
United States Court of Claims·Decided May 22, 1991·No. No. 154-89 L·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

OPINION AND ORDER

TURNER, Judge.

Plaintiff asserts a regulatory taking claim based on a determination by the Federal Aviation Administration that a building which plaintiff proposed to erect on land adjacent to an airport would constitute a hazard to air navigation. Flowers Mill alleges that the FAA determination deprives it of all use and enjoyment of its property thereby entitling it to just compensation under the Fifth Amendment. The case stands on defendant’s motion to dismiss the complaint on the ground that Flowers Mill has failed to state a claim upon which relief could be granted.1

Plaintiff’s taking claim is based on the practical effect of the FAA determination. While there may be practical consequences to an FAA finding of hazard which present obstacles to desired development (e.g., adverse impact on availability of financing and casualty insurance coverage), the FAA determination is advisory only and has no enforceable legal effect. For this reason it cannot be considered the type of governmental action necessary to sustain a Fifth Amendment taking claim. Accordingly, plaintiff has failed to state a claim upon which relief against the United States can be granted.

I

Flowers Mill owns a 6.95 acre parcel in Bucks County, Pennsylvania on which it seeks to construct an 80,000 square foot, one-story office/warehouse building for sale or lease. Adjacent to plaintiff’s prop[184] erty is Buehl Field, a privately-owned utility airport. Plaintiffs proposed building would be 700 feet from the end of a runway.

Federal law requires one in plaintiff’s position to notify FAA of any proposed construction or alteration of a structure in close proximity to an airport. 14 C.F.R. § 77.11(a). According to the regulations, FAA must determine whether the proposed structure will be a hazard to air navigation. The Pennsylvania Aviation Code provides that in order to lawfully construct a building within an “approach area” of an airport, the developer must first obtain a permit from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, Bureau of Aviation (Penn-DOT). 74 Pa.C.S.A. § 5701. Accordingly, Flowers Mill submitted a “Notice of Proposed Construction or Alteration” to Penn-DOT and to FAA pursuant to the federal regulations and to the Pennsylvania Aviation Code (PX C).

Federal aviation regulations describe civil airport imaginary surfaces which extend out and up from the end of an airport runway. 14 C.F.R. § 77.25. Safe and efficient use of airspace requires that areas under these imaginary surfaces be kept clear of obstacles. If any ground object penetrates an imaginary surface prescribed in the regulations, it may be declared a hazard to air navigation. The primary “surface” extends 200 feet beyond each end of a runway at the same elevation as the runway. 14 C.F.R. § 77.25(c). For utility airports such as Buehl Field, the approach “surface” extends outward and upward from each end of the primary surface for a horizontal distance of 5,000 feet at a slope of 20:1, i.e., for each 20 feet that it extends outward from the runway end, the approach surface rises one foot above the elevation of the runway. 14 C.F.R. § 77.25(d)(2)(i). See also PX B.

After conducting an aeronautical study concerning the effect of plaintiff’s proposal on the safe and efficient use of navigable airspace and after soliciting comments from interested parties pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 77.35(b)(1), FAA issued a Determination of Hazard to Air Navigation. It stated that at the height and location proposed, the building would penetrate the approach surface described in the regulations (PX E). Flowers Mill appealed from this determination and was granted discretionary review to be conducted on the basis of written materials submitted pursuant to 14 C.F.R. § 77.37(c)(1).

In conjunction with the appeal, Flowers Mill submitted a runway displacement plan which would eliminate obstruction of the 20:1 approach surface by the proposed building (PX G-l). The runway displacement plan applied the guidelines set forth in the FAA Advisory Circular AC No. 150/5300-4B pertaining to utility airports such as Buehl Field. According to Appendix 9 of the Advisory Circular, displacement of a runway threshold may be required when an obstruction is beyond the airport authority’s power to remove, relocate, or lower. A threshold is defined as “the beginning of that portion of the runway available and suitable for the landing of airplanes” (PX H). Generally, a runway threshold is located at the beginning of the runway pavement. A displaced threshold results when the threshold is “located at a point on the runway other than the runway end” (PX H).

Flowers Mill proposed that the Buehl Field runway be displaced by 215 feet. By doing so, its building would be 915 feet from the new threshold rather than 700 feet and would not penetrate the 20:1 approach surface. To compensate for the displacement, Flowers Mill agreed to pay for a 215 foot extension of the runway pavement on the opposite end and to grant the owner of Buehl Field an avigation easement in the airspace above its property.

This agreement was part of a settlement entered into by PennDOT and Flowers Mill after an administrative hearing held before PennDOT on November 16, 1988 (PX K). The purpose of the hearing was to resolve plaintiff’s appeal of a decision by PennDOT to deny a construction permit because the proposed building would violate FAA obstruction standards. In conjunction with its appeal from PennDOT’s denial of the construction permit, Flowers Mill sub[185] mitted the same information regarding displacement of the runway threshold which it had submitted to FAA pursuant to its appeal of FAA’s hazard determination. PennDOT agreed to grant the construction permit required by the Pennsylvania Aviation Code if Flowers Mill received a determination from FAA that the proposed building would not be a hazard to air navigation.

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Flowers Mill Associates v. United States, 23 Cl. Ct. 182, 1991 U.S. Claims LEXIS 190, 1991 WL 84393 (cc 1991).

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