Nobody likes change, especially when people feel if affects them directly. Evidently the people involved in the Leighton Township airstrip fiasco living near the proposed airstrip are determined to stop the development.

I don’t have any interest in this development other than being an outside observer. But I do have an interest in a person’s right to do with their property what they wish, and developers Clark Galloway and Steve Deer are being impeded in doing so. I also understand the people opposing this development have a right to be heard about their concerns. I don’t know either Galloway or Deer other than reading about their plight in the Townbroadcast.

Let us critically examine this situation:

The opposing forces to this development are saying the airstrip, which has existed there for many years on the Martin farm, will be a noise nuisance and scare and bother the neighbors and the horses on the horse farm to the west of the proposed development. I travel Kalamazoo Avenue every day. I see commercial airliners in the airspace above the area in question in their approach to Ford International airport, especially coming from Chicago. Are the neighbors aware of the planes above? Are the horses spooked by the activity in the sky? I seriously doubt it.

My personal history with an airstrip:

I lived not far from the airstrip north of Wayland for years, and the only time I heard a propeller powered aircraft was when it powered up for takeoff. It wasn’t objectionable, it became a non-issue after being around the sound of aircraft. Of course, it wasn’t like living next to a commercial airport – only a few planes would fly on nice days, sometimes only a few a week.

I used to hunt the fields close by and would watch the planes take off and land without a thought, it wasn’t objectionable for sound, nor was I afraid my life was in danger. Most of the time in landing, you never heard the plane until it would taxi back to the hanger area. More noise was heard from a cherry bomb, muffled car or motorcycle (especially Harleys) going down nearby roads.

I do remember once when I was about 10 years old, a young man had flown his father’s plane from the Wayland airstrip and had run out of fuel, crash landing in a field near the interurban tracks. His was bleeding where his head hit something in the cockpit. We raced to the crash site on our bicycles as he was exiting the plane.

The only thing he said was “My Dad’s going to kill me,” evidently he wasn’t supposed to use the plane. He thought he could sneak in a flight without Dad knowing! The prop was bent and the wheels collapsed under the fuselage. We found out later he ran out of fuel, thinking he could glide to the airstrip to land. His assumptions were obviously incorrect!

Present situation:

The opposition to the development has received enough support to place the issue on the township ballot. This is after the township board voted to allow the development to move forward. Regardless how the vote turns out in August, this smacks in the face of private property rights, where a person can do with his property what he wants, making sure all local codes and ordinances are followed and conform. In this instance, the developers have done so up to this point.

The opposition didn’t like the board voting results, thus the petition to place on the ballot for August vote. This is their right to do so, however, sometimes it is best to know when to fold the tent and go home. With both sides paying legal fees, the only people happy about this battle are the lawyers, with thousands of dollars being wasted for opposing an airstrip that existed for years.

I would hope the voters, smart people they are, would examine this critically and conclude the township acted in good faith in approving the development, knowing the airstrip existed there for years, and the development would pose no more harm to neighbors than aircraft overhead daily going to Gerald R. Ford International Airport. I hear jets every night going over my house (I’m on the flightpath too), hearing their flaps going down for airbrakes, and powering up or down lining up their approach to the airport in Kent County. There is no reason to think this airstrip would pose any more problem or noise than what is experienced now.

Some people are just incensed their neighbors are doing something they personally don’t approve. I would bet after a few years of flights in and out of the airstrip will not even bother people enough to look up when takeoff or landing approach happens. But some people are never happy.

And the horses will keep eating in their pastures, tails swishing, and not even flinch. Happy horses indeed!

Private property rights should be upheld in the August vote. The development should go forward as the township board voted and approved.

The lawyers are laughing all the way to the bank. Without even a “thank you” for your business!

The rotting of America from within continues…