Tribune- Tempe, Phoenix have long battled over routes

Tempe, Phoenix have long battled over routes By Garin Groff, Tribune September 26, 2006 Day 3 of 3-part series Two-and-a-half miles from a runway at the nation’s fifth-busiest airport, developers are scrambling to put up buildings between 20 stories and 30 stories. The soaring buildings aren’t directly under where most planes fly. But they’re close. In the rare instance that an engine fails on takeoff, pilots of some airlines would turn their aircraft directly over tall buildings in downtown Tempe. So instead of continuing east over a largely uninhabited river, the struggling plane would turn over one of Arizona’s most densely populated areas. The idea sounds crazy to everyone — but not in the same way. To Tempe, it’s crazy that a pilot would head toward tall buildings and so many people. To some airlines and aviation officials at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, it’s crazy that anybody would want a skyscraper where disabled planes need all the airspace they can get. And it’s even crazier to them that Tempe would allow it. It may seem like strictly a safety issue. But for two cities that have squabbled over the airport for decades, it’s also about politics. Tempe points out that Phoenix has taller buildings downtown that are even closer to the other end of the runway, so it can’t legitimately complain. Tempe Mayor Hugh Hallman said Phoenix must stop fighting Tempe and pressure airlines to change their procedures. “They want to fly a plane with a disabled engine over the most densely populated area of the state?” Hallman said. “They think that’s safety planning? That’s absurd.” Tempe sees a neighboring city that’s envious of its economic development success. The theory is: The state’s capital city has struggled to lure developers to its downtown for decades while its scrappier college-town neighbor has been nearly overwhelmed by development. By making flight safety an issue, Phoenix can slow Tempe’s growth and lure those developers — and their money — to its downtown, boosting its own image. The accusation offends Jane Morris, a deputy aviation director for Phoenix. “I am a professional and I am not making recommendations that enhance or detract anyone’s downtown,” Morris said. “I am a custodian of maintaining the capacity we have paid for in these runways and the infrastructure,” she continued. “As the person responsible for that planning, I find that ridiculous.” LONG-STANDING TENSION The tension has deep roots. Tempe has complained for years about the growing airport and noise from planes that fly over Tempe neighborhoods on either side of the Salt River. The airport was an issue early this decade when construction was about to begin on an Arizona Cardinals stadium east of the runways. Phoenix and Tempe had battled for the stadium, and flight safety became a major issue. The stadium ended up in Glendale, and many Tempeans are still bitter about how Phoenix fought to have the stadium built in its downtown. The animosity boiled over in 2001 when Tempe sued Phoenix over a runway-paving project. Tempe made the airport a federal issue a year later when it sued Phoenix in federal court. Tempe eventually dropped the suit. In 2004, the new mayors of both cities — Hallman and Phoenix’s Phil Gordon — agreed to stop the fighting their predecessors started and work together more on airport issues. But tensions rose last year when Avenue Communities announced it wanted to raise its 22-story condo project in downtown Tempe to 30. The then-aviation director of Phoenix told Avenue Communities to stop construction. Phoenix chastised the developer for not getting a mandatory review by the Federal Aviation Administration. The developer started the review process this month. Tempe and Phoenix traded barbs publicly over the project. Phoenix questioned whether Tempe was indifferent to airline safety. Tempe questioned whether Phoenix was just jealous. Both sides expect the FAA to shed some light on the issue soon, possibly in a few weeks. Federal officials will examine the building heights and ask airlines for their views. Then the FAA will decide one of two things: A finding of no hazard, which means the project doesn’t have a significant impact on safety or operation. Or the FAA could label the project a hazard because it’s in the airspace needed for safe flight operations should an airliner’s engine fail. The FAA’s findings can’t stop a project, however. Only Tempe has authority to restrict building heights. Hallman has said the city will respect FAA findings but won’t necessarily give in to objections from an individual airline. The latest feud involves University Square, a 300-foot-tall project at University Drive and Myrtle Avenue. The FAA determined it wasn’t a hazard. But it noted Alaska Airlines’ objection to the building on the grounds that it would need the airspace if an engine failed. Alaska has appealed the FAA determination. The FAA does not have a timeline to issue a decision on the appeal. ENGINE FAILURE PLANS Alaska Airlines has told the Tribune that anything higher than 189 feet would force it to reduce weight to ensure its planes could clear the building. That would force the airline to cut six to 10 passengers from most of its flights to ensure safe operations. The airline operates eight to 10 flights a day. Alaska officials said they can’t recall a time in the past decade when any of its planes lost an engine on takeoff. On the aircraft Alaska uses for flights to Phoenix, the Boeing 737-400, engine failure occurs on about four of every 100,000 departures. But Alaska and other airlines must operate every flight under the assumption that an engine could fail and have procedures to ensure these disabled aircraft can clear obstacles. Carl Allen, Alaska’s director of flight operations, said company policy doesn’t put downtown residents at risk. “It’s our intent that that airplane won’t come in contact, whether densely populated area or sparse ground,” Allen said. Each airline has its own procedure for dealing with a failed engine based on the technical specifications of each make of aircraft. Most airlines would continue along the river if an engine failed, which is the same path they’d use for normal takeoffs. Alaska decided not to have have pilots go east over the river with a failed engine because Hayden Butte and buttes in Papago Park are obstacles. The turn over downtown allows planes to clear those hazards, Allen said. Alaska, Southwest and FedEx share similar procedures for turning over downtown when an engine fails. The airlines hesitate to release specifics of their procedures because they are proprietary, Hallman said. Morris rejected Tempe’s call to have the city pressure airlines to change their flight procedures. “Phoenix does not presume to tell an airline how to fly their planes,” she said. Morris said Phoenix has responded to flightsafety issues by creating block-by-block zoning for its downtown that takes airport issues into consideration. She said Tempe hasn’t done the same, and that it should consider doing so. Phoenix is studying Tempe’s airspace now to see what heights would or would not be a problem in its downtown. Phoenix should have its answers within a few months. “Tempe doesn’t have an analysis that takes into account one engine out,” Morris said. Hallman said Tempe has tried to do this but Phoenix and the airlines have refused to release information on flight procedures when an engine fails. Tempe started working on building height issues before Phoenix, Hallman said, but can’t complete the work without information from airlines. Tempe Councilman Hut Hutson has followed the issue as chairman of the city’s aviation commission and is the city’s chief critic of Phoenix’s position. “They complain that we don’t listen to the FAA and then the FAA gives us approval and it’s still not good enough,” Hutson said. “I’ve been telling people all the time, it’s economic development. It’s not flight safety, it’s economic development.” For more information on downtown Tempe Lofts, Condos, Townhomes or other real estate Contact Tom Tokoph, Broker, Urban Realty & Development 602-549-9000. Or visit us on the web at http://www.LifeIsInTheHeartoftheCity.com