I stated below that Charlie Conner’s temporary helicopter use permit (issued last year) has been overturned by our Hearing Examiner. The permit was tossed mostly on procedural grounds, based on a determination that the administration had erred in allowing a temporary use that was arguably not allowed by ordinance. The fact that city codes do not address helicopter use in residential areas, while allowing them as conditional uses in other zones, is interpreted to prohibit them in residential areas under the current laws.

However, I should have mentioned that a new ordinance allowing limited residential helicopter operation, as a conditional use, is coming to city council in the coming weeks or months. This ordinance would lay out terms for the keeping of helicopters in residentail areas when allowed by FAA. As a practical matter, the new ordianance and current FAA rules would only allow helicopters at a few properties on the lake. And, any personal heliport permits would have to be presented to the Hearing Examiner (the same one mentioned above), who would hear public testimony and could impose additional specific requirements on the use as part of the COnditional Use process.

So, council will weigh in on this, and depending on the outcome, possible turn Mr. Conner’s helicopter permit question BACK to the Hearing Examiner.

Since this is going to council, I wanted to raise a question I’ve been pondering. What are the chances that we are arriving at the future, where personal air travel may in fact become more commonplace? It’s possible that in coming years some of these companies working on new light-weight helicopters, and “flying cars” (lightweight aircraft that don’t require special skills to fly.

If so, do we leave it to the FAA, or do we do we attempt to prepare for the future in today’s city codes…?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

Popular Mechanics, 1951

Clearly, the inspiration for the Space Needle