Pigeon Forge Airport; Hartsoe, Mark; Attorney at Law, TN

The attorney represented a client whose property was near the Gatlinburg Municipal Airport in Tennessee. The client’s property was located in rolling hills. The airport wanted to level the hills to create an extensive safety zone and implement an instrument approach to the airport over the client’s property. An Airspace and Obstruction Analysis and TERPS evaluation showed that the hills would have to be leveled for several thousand feet and that the installation of a precision instrument arrival procedure would not provide measurable benefit to the airport during poor weather conditions. The attorney used the written report and technical data provided by WAC to address the proposed taking and to arrive at an agreement with his client and the airport.