Houston’s airport land resolution delayed, public input ordered

What you need to know:

• The Houston City Council postponed a resolution that would officially identify land for a potential municipal airport. The council also referred the resolution to the city's planning commission for further review and public meetings. It will reconsider the resolution in January.
• The resolution, first introduced in July, would allow the city to work with the state to annex land for an airport that could eventually accommodate large aircraft.
• The proposal has faced significant opposition from some residents who argue against selecting rural land outside the city limits without consulting local communities

A resolution allowing the city of Houston to identify land for a city airport that could host a nearly two-mile runway has been delayed until January and referred to the city's planning commission for review and public meetings.

The motions to delay and refer the resolution to the planning commission were unanimously approved during a Houston City Council meeting Thursday , following lengthy public comments and council discussion.

The proposed airport resolution aims to allow the city to work with the state to annex land that could eventually accommodate an airport capable of handling large aircraft, although initial plans likely call for only a small runway, Houston Mayor Carter Cole said last month.

The resolution was first introduced in July and then delayed until Thursday. It directs the commission to work with the state to transfer the land to Houston and seek funding for the project if the transfer occurs.

The land identified for the project by the city's airport commission is mostly outside Houston's city limits in Willow and is managed by the state’s Department of Natural Resources.

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The resolution faced significant opposition from some nearby residents who argued it is inappropriate to propose land for an airport in a rural area outside the current city limits without consulting local communities.

The council charged the four-member Planning and Zoning Commission with studying the issue, contacting surrounding communities and organizing public meetings and town halls on the proposal.

The planning commission's next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 29. It is unclear whether the airport resolution will be on the commission's agenda for that meeting. There is currently no planning commission meeting scheduled for September, according to the city's website.

-- Amy Bushatz can be contacted at abushatz@matsusentinel.com .