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| At least one resident of the Nature Trail Subdivision in Beulah is demanding that Fritz Field, a Board of County Commissioner's park established for RC Airplane enthusiasts to utilize to fly their planes, be shut down due to noise that is annoying them now that they have built their houses near this existing field... We are not shutting Fritz Field down though, we are not running out the Modeler's Club. The residents will have to compromise with the RC flyers, there will have to be a way for both sides to coexist peacefully. :) |
Fritz Field in Beulah has been an established location for RC controlled model airplane enthusiasts to fly their planes for nearly 17 years. Located on the site of a former landfill in Beulah just north of Mobile Highway and South of 9-Mile Road--the field is home to the NW Florida Modelers club--a group of model airplane enthusiasts.
In 2018, the friction reached a boiling point as growth encroached on the field. A portion of the Nature Trail subdivision that loops southward literally found itself in the flight path of some of the flyers. They complained about the noise and also about some of the planes flying over their houses.
So a compromise was worked and the county expended monies to repair the field's bridge (which had been washed out in the flood of 2014) as well as to "turn" the runways such that the flight pattern went south--away from Nature Trail. In addition to this, hours were limited, strict guidelines were established that prohibited any planes from "flyovers" of the subdivision, and a decibel-level threshold was established as a compromise so that the Nature Trail residents and the model airplane flyers could peacefully coexist. An agreement was approved by the BCC and the Modeler's Club in 2018.
So far as I knew--this arrangement was working out well.
Then out of the clear blue sky I was copied on an email from a Nature Trail resident late last week demanding the field be shut down. From the email:
"My
name is XXXXXX XXXXXXXX and I am a board member of Nature Trail HOA. Over the last
five years the board and several residents have filed multiple complaints
regarding safety violations and noise violations against the RC club and its
members. This resulted in the club agreeing to a very specific dB level
limit for its members and that flying over top of our homes and properties are
off limits. This took place a few years ago and was facilitated by Mr
Rhodes. Although the dB level agreement was still very much a disturbance
to the tranquil setting of our neighborhood our residents were satisfied
if the agreement was adhered to. We are sitting here many years later and
the problem is worse than ever. It is even more exaggerated now due
to Covid. Many of our families have decided to either home school or take
advantage of remote learning. At the same time the field is being used
more. This is a significant distraction to the learning environment
of our community's children. The planes are close enough and loud enough
to be heard clearly inside of our homes. I ask you would you enjoy that,
would you allow that, would you not use your influence to put a stop to
it? We do not, we will not, and we are certainly ready to use our
resources and influence to stop if action is not taken.
The
club has no regard for the agreement, our residents, and infringing upon
our lives. While at the time of the agreement we respected the club,they
continue to disrespect us. With the number of houses being built in our
area the problem is only going to get worse. We all have supported growth and
progress in our area. We also know that means change and sacrifice to ensure
its success. It is time to take action. You would not be
reading this if the club would have abided with the rules. They have
proven that they either cannot control their members or they
don't care. Either way, there needs to be consequences.
My
proposal is to close the field. Give them area in a more rural part of
the county if available. If not the club has 2 additional fields to fly
in. I am eagerly awaiting your responses. Please feel free to reach
out and if need be I am able to meet. In the meantime our group of
concerned citizens are researching options, legal and political."
4 comments:
Wow , just wow , while i understand that every issue is important to the one who has the issue I’m just sitting here trying to relate . Goes back to the ole saying the difference between minor surgery and major surgery is Any surgery I have is major. With that said I sit here figuring out how my 16 dollars worth Of food stamps is going to feed my family next month, which one gift my child will get for Christmas that will cost t least and have him excited Christmas morning , how will I pay to get this tooth ace taken care of , How will the rent get paid Jan 1 joe will I pay my land taxes if I continue to struggle to find work . My faith is strong amd I know God will provide but I only wish I could replace all that above and the sound of the Friday and Saturday night drag racing on Davis hwy In front of my house with the booming that rocks my house all night and wakes me from a dead sleep with RC planes . Maybe it will help those people have peace at the sound of RC planes. It also makes me wonder what I worried about when I was making big money before covid and thinking about retirement and that drained saving and 401k . I hope I can have those days again.
I used to be on a planning and zoning board in Alabama and we would see stuff like this come up fairly frequently. There would be a neighbor or business doing some sort of legal activity over a period of years and someone would buy a house next to this legal activity and then come to us complaining and wanting this activity shut down. Why would the legal activity be shut down because some new person decided that they did not like this activity. My position on the board was that the new property owner did not check the area well enough before buying property. The complaining property owner should not have bought the property and that the ongoing legal activity should continue without harassment. I think the county made an error on either zoning or should have not granted permission for the modelers to use the field. Since the modelers have been there for 17 years, the modelers should not be bothered further. The property owners should shoulder responsibility for not checking out the property before they closed on this house. Maybe the realtor should have warned the buyer in a disclosure. Anyway, the situation is what it is and the property buyers should not be further appeased and that the modelers should not be bothered further. To go further will not satisfy anyone and will continue regardless what is done short of running the modelers off the county property.
Steven Bursey--I hear what you are saying, and when you boil it down to the realities many residents like you are facing in the wake of the pandemic--this does seem like an awfully petty issue. Richard Allison--I agree: I saw it before as well when I lived in San Diego. Real Estate developers lobbied and were successful in getting permits to build housing in the flight path of Lindberg Field--then once they sold the homes to residents-------the residents started complaining, very noisily, to the governmental officials about "all the jet noise." I just scratch my head at some of this.......meanwhile, we will find a solution and NOBODY is getting run out of that park, period!
Dear Commissioner Bergosh,
Those new Super Hornets the Blues are flying are way louder than the other planes and this is NOT the noise level I purchased my house to live under. As you know from working on the Base these suckers are LOUD and when they fly overhead it can rattle the glass in the panes and sometimes I even have to stop talking on the phone for 30 seconds out of the day. My dog is so far sleeping through them, but what if he stops doing so in the future? Please use your considerable influence on the Base and as a County Commissioner to shut down the Blue Angels so we can hear our TVs again when the volume is all the way up.
Said no Navy Point resident, ever.
--Mel Pino
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