A resident who has operated a helicopter from a heliport on his acreage about 2 miles west of Davey for nearly 40 years can continue to do so, despite attempts by neighbors to stop him.
The Lancaster County Board on Tuesday approved a special permit for the heliport but acknowledged neighbors’ concerns, which they said they could not address because they fell outside the purview of the special permit.
“I think it’s a really fair question to ask, whether a heliport should be part of (agricultural) residential zoning, but the simple matter is, the issue before us is that it is allowed right now,” said Commissioner Sean Flowerday. “And frankly 40 years of use has to count for something if we haven’t had any major issues up to this point.”
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Richard Greb, who owns two lots in the Northridge subdivision, has had a pilot’s license since 1976 and has operated six different helicopters from his property since 1985.
Neighbors told the County Board during a public hearing last week they were worried about safety and noise, and said the helicopter violated several covenants of their homeowners association in the Northbridge subdivision, which includes 14 homes on acreages.
They submitted a petition with more than 40 signatures from opponents who live in the area, although other neighbors supported Greb.
He told the board his wife is the only person who flies with him, he won't fly from that location more than three times a week, and if there are issues such as wind, he will land in Wahoo, where he has a hangar.
The Lincoln-Lancaster County Planning Commission approved the special permit, which was appealed to the Lancaster County Board.
City-County Planner George Wesselhoft said this is the first time the issue of a heliport has come up since the county zoning regulations were created in 1979. The permit request was reviewed by the County Engineer's Office, and the Health Department and Building and Safety Department, he said, and noise levels were consistent with city noise ordinances, though they don’t apply in the area.
In 1985, Greb got approval from the Nebraska Department of Aeronautics and the Federal Aviation Administration. Wesselhoft said because the heliport is on private land and not intended for public use, the approvals were more of a voluntary registration, rather than licensing or permitting.
At the public hearing last week, Greb told the County Board that he didn’t know he needed a permit until neighbors filed a complaint four years ago and he thought he’d taken care of it because he’d been working with the Building and Safety Department on a number of other complaints and they’d told him all matters had been settled.
Then, a year or two later, after he’d operated his helicopter sporadically, another complaint was filed, which brought to light the need for the special permit.
On Tuesday, Commissioner Matt Schulte made the motion to approve the special permit.
“I am not about to overturn what a citizen has done legally for 40 years,” he said. “The owner was notified of a compliance issue and has done his work to get in compliance and I really appreciate that.”
Commissioner Roma Amundson said she personally has a problem with a private airfield in a residential area, but she would vote to approve the special permit because it’s allowed under current rules. Also, she said, it’s not under the purview of the County Board to settle neighborhood disputes or violations of homeowner association rules.
Changing the special permit rules is something the County Board could discuss in the future, but Flowerday noted that even then, Greb’s heliport would be grandfathered in under current rules.
“This has been a really hard one for me, personally, to decide,” said Commissioner Christa Yoakum. She said she had concerns such as wildlife being disrupted every time the helicopter lands or takes off, but that’s not something the board can rule on in this case.
Commissioner Rick Vest said the board has consistently tried to honor landowner rights, though balancing those rights with concerns of neighbors can be complicated. To that end, he proposed two amendments to Schulte's motion to approve the special permit.
To address some neighbors’ concerns, he proposed the special permit end when the Grebs sell the property, rather than staying with the land; and that flights be allowed from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. with exceptions for life-threatening emergencies.
A member of the audience spoke up during the meeting to suggest the emergency exception, and Vest added it. Because no public testimony is accepted after the public hearing is closed, an attorney advised the county board against amending the motion based on public testimony provided after the hearing.
But Vest said he’d had that emergency exception in his mind but hadn't included it initially, so the board voted to include the amendments and unanimously approved the special permit.
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