My Two Cents: NIMB

Most of you have probably heard NIMB (not in my backyard) stories. Maybe residents were opposing the building of a prison near a school, a cell tower near their neighborhood, or a garbage dump near their house. While all of these can be reasons to pause and evaluate the best place to build a new structure, here is a reverse NIMB story.

We live two miles from a small airport with a runway length of 4,422 feet. To give that some scale, JFK Airport in NYC has four runways ranging in length from 8,400 to 14,500 feet. Our nearby airport was built for small planes and some corporate jets, whereas JFK was built for jets of any size. The larger and heavier the jet, the longer the runway needed for take-off.

In the late nineties, a new development of large homes began across the street from our neighborhood on land that was previously open space. With more people living near the airport, it seemed more people were complaining about the noise from the planes. A group of private citizens formed an association to try to stop the noise and ultimately some say, close the airport. Some went so far as to say "... the airport is shifting toward more and larger jets". Looking at the length of the runways above, that could not possibly be true. So why do people say things that are not true? To scare others? To get others to see things from their point-of-view?

Letters to the editor of our local newspapers appeared from a few residents in the new development. They complained about the noise and how living near the airport was decreasing their property values. They went so far as to say they wanted the airport closed for everyone's good. Well, that got us annoyed because we certainly did not want it closed and it would not be for our good to close it.

I know that if I were purchasing a new home for over one million dollars, I would do my homework first. I would know that my new dream house was located less than two miles from an airport. My realtor certainly should have pointed that out to me, and if he didn’t shame on him. But even if he didn’t, it is ultimately my responsibility to research my million-dollar-plus purchase. I would even spend some time on a Saturday afternoon sitting in my car, judging for myself how much noise there actually was. I certainly wouldn’t buy a house then demand that the city airport be closed down because it was disturbing me.

We did our research 22 years ago, and decided to buy our house because of its close proximity to the airport. My husband is a pilot and wanted to have a short drive to the airport while enjoying his hobby on weekends, flying small single engine planes, flying with our sons, taking fun day and weekend trips. So it certainly made us pause when others acted in the manner referenced above. We actually enjoy looking overheard on weekends seeing the planes on their descent to the airstrip. When we are outside on a summer afternoon, talking on the phone, and a plane goes overhead, we simply say, ‘Hold on, a plane is going by’ then continue. Not a big deal. We got what we paid for.

So I guess my two cents here is that while it is okay to try to stop new structures being built in your backyard, don’t try to close one down after you buy your house, so long as its size, mission, or purpose has not changed. For this airport I say yes, YIMB.