Marion County didn't consider developable land at McNary Field, appeals board finds

The state has rejected a private developer's plan to turn property adjacent to Aurora State Airport into hangars and office space, saying there is suitable land for development at other airports, including McNary Field in Salem.

The state's Land Use Board of Appeals ruled that Marion County made a mistake by not considering the large amount of land available for lease at other nearby airports when it decided to allow the former church camp to be redeveloped.

The case, which was brought by Aurora planning commission chair Joseph Schaefer, had been sent back to the board after the state’s Court of Appeals decided Marion County and LUBA’s approval of the zone change without requiring statewide land use exceptions was unlawful.

The case centers around development by TLM Holdings of a 16.5-acre parcel referred to as the “church camp” outside the current boundary at the Aurora State Airport, which is in unincorporated Marion County near Aurora.

TLM Holdings, which is owned by Ted Millar, proposed to develop the former site of the Methodist church camp into 123,000 square feet of office space and 158,000 square feet of hangar space, with the property having access to the airport’s runway.

The concept proposed to the Marion County Commissioners by representatives of TLM Holdings was the site would have enough space for 37 aircraft. It also said the development would add 110 jobs.

One of the largest private employers at the airport, Life Flight Helicopter Service, threatened to move its operations elsewhere if the development wasn't approved, though it later backtracked. It recently added a transport base at McNary Field.

https://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/local/2022/04/02/oregon-court-of-appeals-marion-county-improperly-approved-aurora-airport-development-project/65347890007/

In August 2020, the Marion County Commissioners approved the development without land use exceptions, saying they were unnecessary because the development was considered “through the fence” and it was allowed under state law. The land use board agreed in its first decision in October 2021.

In March, the state’s Court of Appeals ruled that the approval was incorrect because the property is outside the airport and the application is not to expand the airport.

Schaefer argued that the adjacent Aurora State Airport doesn’t qualify the facility for exceptions.

The Court of Appeals decided that those kinds of exceptions are not allowed unless the airport boundary has been expanded first. In a previous case, the court of appeals decided that the 2012 airport master plan didn’t include the TLM property.

The City of Salem owns McNary Field. It does not sell land at the airport for development. Instead, it leases it, bringing in about $1 million per year.

The most recent master plan of McNary Field identified 480,000 square feet of hangar lease lots and 60 to 70 acres of non-aviation land for development.

The board decided that TLM Holdings’ search for alternative airport properties that would work for its intended purposes was incomplete as it only searched for property for sale at nearby airports like McNary Field and Hillsboro Airport.

The board decided that it must include developable land that was for lease at other airports.

In its argument for approval of the “church camp” rezoning, TLM Holdings said it looked at 12.45 acres of land across Mission Street from McNary Field in Salem and 18.73 acres a half mile away from Hillsboro Airport.

But they were not suitable for the proposed uses, largely because they were not connected to the airport, according to the applications.

Schaefer argued that there are suitable areas for the types of uses TLM Holdings was proposing available for lease at McNary Field and the land use board agreed.

The land use board’s decision sends the decision back to Marion County.

Bill Poehler covers Marion County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Marion County didn't consider developable land at McNary Field, appeals board finds