Airport Funding Reform

TQB is moving at glacial speed, despite the airport costing tax payers $1400 a day

The airport was a subject of a number of discussions at the October 21st Committee of the Whole meeting. This is the time of year when council makes their recommendations for new and/or amendments to their strategic planning initiatives incorporating them into the new budget for 2025 to 2029.

Under "Good Governance Strategic Initiatives", Council approved three motions. The first motion was that the new budget include $75,000 for an airport master plan/business plan to commence in fiscal 2026, subject to 100% grant funding. (This initiative was previously included in the 2025 budget but staff indicated they are unable to meet that timeline and hence it was deferred to 2026.)

The second approved motion was "Investigation of viability and process of expanding the QB airport noise sensitive map". The approved motion is that staff begin the investigation and consultation with Transport Canada and Nav Canada in 2025 to determine if the current noise sensitive area map can be expanded. No money was allocated to this initiative. This initiative is unlikely to have any meaningful effect as the majority of residents currently having issues with the noise are already included in the current map and the noise issues continue despite existing noise sensitive area mapping.

The third approved motion was to review the airport operation and establishment bylaw no. 475.05 1998. This bylaw review offers an opportunity to explore and maximize revenue opportunities associated with the QB airport.

No money was allocated but an estimate of 200 hours (or 9 weeks of our part time airport managers time) was allocated. The offset is that airport staff will no longer investigate noise violations and instead residents will receive a standardized response. Complaints will continue to be logged for data collection. My only comment on this initiative is that it is long overdue and should be undertaken by staff on a regular basis as part of day to day town operations.

A further motion to reduce the tax funded portion of QB airport costs failed after being advanced by Counsellor Vandervalk, supported by Counsellor Skipsey ,Opposed by the Mayor, Counselors Young and Harrision.

Not surprising as staff continue to represent the tax funded portion as only those expenses relating to the airport operations. Staff conveniently fail to acknowledge and recognize that all the airport capital expenditures (think buildings, runways, lighting) which are not grant funded get paid out of QB town reserves. (Think savings account accumulated by tax payers.). In my view, this is incredibly misleading to the general public.

For example, If I try to work out what it costs for me to live in my house, I include all the usual monthly bills like hydro, telephone gas, property taxes and insurance. But I also have to accept that to stay in my house I have to do repairs, and maybe even replace a roof , hot water tank or replace a bathroom and flooring because they don't last forever. These items are often the bigger ticket items that you pay for out of your savings account because monthly income usually isn't sufficient to cover these bigger repair/replacements. In a business context these bigger expenses are considered capital expenditures and our airport has a lot of them and they are expensive, including replacing the surface on the runway, fuel tanks, lighting systems. The town of Qualicum Beach senior staff continually fail to acknowledge that funds taken from our reserves to top up airport related grants are indeed tax payer funded. Reserves don't magically appear, rather each year the TQB puts some of the annual tax payer monies they collect into town reserves (savings) account. I have written on this issue previously see the that article here.

So while current council and staff fail to see any real urgency to address meaningful reform at the airport, it appears many residents have become fed up with inaction and what some people view as misinformation. Taking matters into their own hands some are distributing a form of "Myths and Facts" in an effort to better inform other residents, not only about the financial aspects of the airport, but also on the actual powers of a municipal airport operator, which in our case is the town.

After repeatedly hearing from the town that "the town does not have the legislative authority to make changes at the airport," some individual residents have gone so far as to contact Transport Canada directly on their own with very specific questions. Remarkably, within a very short period, these local residents got clear and concise answers which indicate that the town does indeed have significant powers to curtail hours and activities at the airport. (See detail questions and Transport Canada's answers below.)

This reply from Transport Canada has been forwarded to both council and staff and we understand that to date these residents have not received a reply from anyone on Council nor from town staff.

So in summary, based on councils decisions during the current strategic planning sessions, it appears airport reform will not be addressed during this council's term which ends in 2026. Clearly council is still not "hearing" residents, who want to see real reform at the airport now to reduce the tax burden and immediately improve the quality of life for the citizens of Qualicum Beach.

I can only suggest that if the issue is important to you that you write to your council and express your concerns. If they do not correct the situation you will have to step up during the next election. We need people to run for office who inform themselves of the truth, act in good faith and actually listen to the residents of QB.

Marie Noel

November 1 2024

We welcome your feedback and comments.

You can email us at Qualicumbeachinsight@gmail.com

More information:

Questions and answers email from Transport Canada (Flight Operations, Victoria, Pacific Region) dated October 15 2024,as supplied by one of our readers:

"My questions relate to our municipal airport, Qualicum Beach Airport which is owned and run by the town of Qualicum beach since 1954, having been bought from the province at that time. It is a certified airport, uncontrolled with no radar and no air traffic controls tower."

Question 1a Can Qualicum Beach, the operator of the airport limit air traffic?

Answer: Simple answer, YES the airport operator can place any restriction on their operations as long as it does not effect safety of flight. Any operational restrictions made by the airport operator are considered as a "business decision" and Transport Canada does NOT tell an airport how to make or not make money. The operational restrictions cannot be in contravention of Airport Regulations and/or Standards applicable for Certification.

Question 1b Namely can the town limit the amount of flight training that is occurring there? Sealand Flight School operates a sub-base there, their home base is in Campbell River airport. Can the training be limited to during the week, and prohibited on weekends/ stat holidays? This was the case in the past era 1978. Indeed, could the training be limited to certain hours of the day? Can the airport totally ban touch and go flights that occur as part of pilot training? Our understanding from the airport manager who states that the town cannot limit air traffic whatsoever in any way at all. I would like Transport Canada's verdict on this statement as we understand that other airports are doing this and have taken control and dictated times/days/type of training that can occur.

Answer 1b All of the stated types of restriction presented here can be implemented by the airport, if they wish. Restrictions that impose specific performance limitations on an aircraft cannot be imposed by the airport. Example: Reduced power on take-off or after take-off to limit noise, unless the aircraft performance allows for this type of procedure. This is generally only applicable to jet aircraft, such as Boeing or Airbus products.

Question 2a Qualicum Beach has night restrictions from 10pm to 6am. Can the airport institute fines for violators/ ban violators from using the airport?

Answer 2a Simple answer is NO, the airport operator does not have the delegated authority to administer fines or bans under the Aeronautics Act or the Canadian Aviation Regulations.

Question 2b Or is that something that only Transport Canada can do?

Answer 2b Transport Canada enforcement can investigate and institute various levels of fines or suspensions if an airport has specific restrictions identified in the Canada Flight Supplement and an air operator or a pilot contravenes a "rule of conduct".

Question 2c And can night time restrictions be aligned with the seasons as to when night time is occurring /darkness is occurring in the fall/winter months and can the town do this unilaterally without input from Transport Canada.

Answer 2c Yes, specific operations can be restricted to daylight hours and not identified as a specific time frame.

Question3a Can airports that are only registered host flight training schools?

Answer 3a Yes; the operation of a flight training unit does NOT require the airport to be certified.

Question3b That is if Qualicum beach was to de-certify would that prohibit flight schools from operating out of an airport that is now just registered and not certified?

Answer 3b As long as the airport has a scheduled passenger service, the airport is required to be certified.

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"Myths and Facts" document created by a group of concerned residents and we are told it is currently being distributed door to door in Qualicum Beach.

Myths and Facts

Frequently Asked Questions

For Qualicum Beach Airport

Myth: If we close the airport we will lose critical emergency services that will put

Qualicum Beach at risk.

Fact: Communities all over BC that do not have an airport still receive BC Ambulance

flight services, sometimes referred to as Medivac flights.

Ambulance helicopters can land in many conditions and locations, and examples of

recent local landings were at the QB golf course and on First Avenue near Quality

Foods, not at the airport.

There are no BC Ambulance aircraft which use the QB airport as their base.

The same applies to firefighting aircraft: all of BC receives access to their services

whether the towns have an airport or not, and there are no fire service aircraft based here.

In terms of forest fire fighting, BC Provincial Forest Fire suppression crews and the

firefighting firm Coulson Aviation are based nearby at Port Alberni.

Myth: The airport provides a boost for our economy.

Fact: Although it is sometimes stated that an airport contributes to our local economy,

there has not been any work to analyze this statement disclosed to the public, nor to

quantify to what extent it supports our community.

Conclusions can be made that there are a certain number of jobs related to the airport,

but it is generally accepted that the majority of tourists visit our community by driving.

Alternate uses for the airport lands, such as building housing and renewable energy

generation, would see an increase of jobs for the area and create a larger tax base for

Qualicum Beach.

Land use updates could also employ a combined use of the lands that would maintain

the existing businesses and jobs, and see an increase of opportunities for other

businesses.

Myth: Operating an airport in Qualicum Beach is good value for QB taxpayers.

Fact: Based upon a review of the town’s published financial information, in the two year

period of 2023 and 2024, tax payers will have spent or are planning to spend over one

million dollars of QB tax payer money at the airport.

This equates to almost $1400 per day. This is over and above the generous BC and

Government of Canada tax payer funded airport grants received by the town.

Qualicum Beach residents are well served by the other regional airports, such as

Comox, Nanaimo, and Port Alberni which are all less than 1 hours drive away. These

airports could support flight schools and training needs to meet commercial and

regulatory demands.

Myth: Most noise complaints are generated by the same few unhappy people.

Fact: In staff reporting to Council on airport noise, there were about 100 formal

complaints from numerous different residents from Chartwell, Eaglecrest, Qualicum

Woods, and other areas of town.

Hundreds of individuals provided feedback of their concerns during the town’s airport review

and public meetings.

Impacted residents have reported giving up submitting complaints due to the effort

required, the technical difficulties, or lack of access to the system.

Many expressed concerns over a lack of action taken in response to their

complaints, with staff stating fewer airport complaint investigations will be conducted.

From past practice it is understandable how this concern exists, as town staff often state in their replies to

residents who complain about noise and low flights:

“No technical violations have occurred, so no further action has been taken.”

Myth: The community wants to keep the airport as it is.

Fact: When the town conducted a public survey in 2023 on the airport with over 700

people participating, the overwhelming majority of responses expressed concerns about

the impacts of the airport on our community wellbeing and quality of life, with numerous respondents suggesting the airport be closed.

In addition, similar vast majority levels of concern over noise and lead were expressed

by the 100+ residents who attended the two town public meetings in person in 2023,

and the many residents who filled the Council chambers to overflowing at the two

Committee of the Whole meetings in January and July 2024.

About 170 people signed a petition of concern over airport noise as far back as 2015, over 200 people signed petitions both in 2017 and in 2023 expressing concerns over

noise and lead, and 80 plus people signed a similar petition in 2024.

These numbers reflect the widespread community concerns over airport issues and the

impacts airport activity has on our residents on a daily basis.

Myth: Leaded aviation fuel is not a safety risk for our community.

Fact: Numerous studies have confirmed that the burning of leaded aviation fuel

disperses lead into the air in the community, especially during take offs and landings.

These effects have been proven to be seen up to 3 kilometers of an airport.

Lead exposure has been a known human health hazard for generations and is

especially harmful to child development as it lowers IQ, increases learning difficulties,

and leads to other lifelong health impacts.

Lead exposure contributes to increased blood lead levels, increased blood pressure,

and increased adult cardiac mortality rates.

In October 2023 the US Environmental Protection Agency made a finding for leaded

aviation fuel, concluding that lead emissions cause or contribute to air pollution that

endangers public health and welfare.

Health Canada has stated there is no safe level of lead for humans.

Health Canada and Environment Canada have worked for 40 years to address the

sources of lead emissions and to phase out the use of lead in fuels in our communities,

but have also concluded that additional measures are warranted to further reduce the

exposure of Canadians to lead such as from the use of leaded aviation fuels.

Myth: We don’t need to worry about leaded aviation fuel because unleaded fuel is

coming.

Fact: The use of leaded fuel for cars has been banned outright since 1990.

However there continues to be an exemption for the use of leaded aviation fuels.

Even though unleaded aviation fuel products have been certified for use in the US for

over 8 years, the use of such fuel is entirely voluntary, is not yet approved for use in

Canada, nor are there any manufacturers based in Canada. The government has given no absolute timeline for the replacement of leaded aviation fuel, but it does list it is a “goal” to transition out leaded aviation fuel by 2030.

Myth: Electric airplanes will soon replace older planes.

Fact: Like electric cars, electric planes have their challenges including charging time,

range anxiety, infrastructure needs, and the cost of replacing existing personal vehicles.

Electric planes are likely a part of the solution, but they will not be universally adopted

any time soon.

As has been seen with electric cars, it will be many decades before leaded fuel planes

will be totally phased out from use.

Additionally, the recent use of an electric plane in our community was on a limited time

trial basis only and no certificate of airworthiness has been approved for use in Canada

by Transport Canada.

Myth: The housing built at the airport site won’t be affordable.

Fact: Since the town already owns the airport land, the town can advocate to build

housing on the site, advocate for new land uses, and possibly adopt land uses already described

as possible in previous reports by consultants hired by the town.

All levels of government are on record as supporting housing builds, especially

affordable housing.

There are many methods of obtaining value from the granting of development permits

which have been proven to support housing builds while being fiscally responsible.

Myth: The airport was built in 1954 so people should just accept that it is here.

Fact: There have been huge changes in society since 1954, including here in Qualicum

Beach. When the airport was originally developed 70 years ago it was located in an empty field with no residents living nearby. In the decades since the airport was built the neighbourhoods of Qualicum Woods, Chartwell, Eaglecrest and French Creek have been built around and nearby the airport. The population of Qualicum Beach was only 726 people in 1956, compared to the most recent census which recorded an increase to over 9300 residents. Complicating matters for all residents, since about 2015 the formalization of the flight path was endorsed by Transport Canada, which changed flight patterns.

Pilots are now allowed to choose to fly out towards the heavily populated areas of

Qualicum Beach, as opposed to routes previously chosen by pilots when they flew away

from the more populated areas of town. This has resulted in the increased volumes of noise and aircraft activity over more populated areas of Qualicum Beach. The primary goal of the community when seeking to coexist with the airport is for pilots to choose to avoid populated areas of Qualicum Beach when safe to so. This can be accomplished in two main ways, both of which were confirmed by Transport Canada as being currently acceptable options for pilots:

-flying out towards the lands at the Parksville end of the runway which is sparsely

populated;

-when conditions do require flying towards Qualicum, turning left or south as soon as

possible after take off.

These routes would require only a slight inconvenience if flying to other destinations,

which could be as little as 30 to 90 seconds out of their way. This very slight delay is a relatively minor inconvenience that would provide a huge payback in the reduction of exposure to noise and lead for the majority of the community.

The cooperation of pilots who are not already choosing these routes would be greatly

appreciated by the community, would have the additional benefit of reducing noise

complaints immensely, and would be a win for everyone.

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Link to some of the letters we have received related to the airport here.