Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority Prepares to Surplus Mansfield Airport, Local Entities Push Back

Mansfield Airport in jeopardy of private ownership

An aerial view of the Mansfield Airport is shown. In April, the community in Mansfield and aviators across the region will celebrate the airport's 75th anniversary.

Surplusing an airport could be seen as a last resort, considering the economic impact to the local community it serves. Despite the tedious process and long-range planning involved, the Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority has initiated motions to surplus the Mansfield Airport, 8W3, in hopes of fostering a public-private partnership.

The surplus discussion began in 2022. Last month, the port board approved amending the Port of Douglas County Comprehensive Scheme of Harbor Improvement to remove the Mansfield Airport and prepare it for surplus.

Port CEO Jim Kuntz said maintaining the airport and investing capital in it would not be a wise use of taxpayer dollars. He and the board have said they favored selling the airport at meetings in the last several years.

“The airport needs to be recapitalized,” he said. “We believe the capital investment needed is approximately $1.8 million.”

Jim Kuntz

Jim Kuntz

The port took ownership of the airport in 1995. Between 1996 and 2010, the port used $158,816 in grants, among other costs, on airport improvements, according to port documents. Inquiries for further expenses incurred by the port were not immediately provided.

In 2022, the port installed a Virtower to track aircraft. This showed 141 takeoffs and landings in 2024, 63% of which were considered "touch and go," or 15 minutes between landing and takeoff. In 2022, 33 aircraft were recorded, and in 2023, 106.

In April, the community in Mansfield and aviators across the region will celebrate the airport's 75th anniversary.

As of Friday, the airport property was for sale at $313,200. It includes 23.2 acres with a single runway, 2,576 feet by 46 feet. Water and sewer utilities are provided by Mansfield. Douglas County PUD provides power and fiber.

Kuntz and board members on Tuesday outlined five priorities they wanted resolved prior to the surplus and potential sale.

First, the airport property boundaries need to be annexed by one jurisdiction. The airport property is in both unincorporated Douglas County and the incorporated limits of the City of Mansfield.

Mansfield Airport in jeopardy of private ownership

The Mansfield Airport is within two jurisdictions. Portions of the airport property are Douglas County and the City of Mansfield. If the surplus and potential sale move forward, Chelan Douglas Regional Port Authority must annex the airport property to bring it under one jurisdiction.

Kuntz and the board concluded that annexing the entire airport property to Mansfield was ideal, considering the larger portion of the airport property is in Mansfield’s Urban Growth Area.

In a legal memorandum to Kuntz and the board, attorney Julie K. Norton of Ogden Murphy Wallace PLLC wrote “it would be most logical to annex the Airport Property to the Town (rather than 'de-annex' the Town portion of the Airport Property to the County).”

According to the memo, a direct petition was the most feasible option for annexation. Under the petition method, the port would provide a written notification of intent to annex. Mansfield City Council would have 60 days to meet and determine the annexation proceedings. If the City Council approved the terms and conditions, the port would file a formal petition for annexation. The City Council would then set a date for a public hearing.

If the City Council approves the petition, it would draft a resolution “confirming its intent to approve the annexation, and authorizing submission of a Notice of Intent to Annex to be filed with the Douglas County Boundary Review Board,” according to the memo.

If the boundary review board reviews the petition and approves it, the annexation could be finalized by a Mansfield ordinance.

“In this case, unless there is political opposition to the petition for annexation, it would appear logical for the Town (and BRB) to approve a petition for annexation,” Norton wrote.

The second priority is to update the airport property zoning. Portions of the airport property are zoned Mansfield Industrial and Douglas County Industrial.

Adopting a zoning text amendment that rezones the airport property to Airport Industrial, or Light Industrial, satisfies zoning regulations required for surplus.

Norton recommended rezoning because “the new zoning designation would enable the Airport Property to be used or permitted for certain accessory or flexible uses that would not traditionally be available on 'heavy' industrial property.”

Norton added the new zoning designation was common among small towns with small airport operations. Hangars, airparks, residential construction, storage facilities, and cemeteries are examples of allowed uses within the airport property under light industrial or airport industrial zoning.

The adoption of an airport overlay district is another alternative.

“This is common in most cities or towns with airports and is used as a method to not only define airport uses but also to regulate uses on adjacent property to prevent conflicting uses,” according to the memo.

If the City Council chooses to adopt an airport overlay district, it must establish a new code language in a new chapter of the Mansfield Municipal Code.

If the City Council rejects rezoning or adopting an airport overlay district, it may establish a new language in the Mansfield Municipal Code defining general airport uses and clear rules and regulations for airport property use.

Norton wrote another hurdle in the surplus process was legally accessing the airport property.

After reviewing assessor and auditor records, Norton wrote there was no clear legal or preferred access to the airport property. Her recommendation was to obtain a title report to confirm the legal access points of entry and the preferred access, compliant with industrial zoning requirements.

"If there is not legal access to the airport property, or legal access is identified but is not the preferred access, it would be best to work on development of an easement with a local owner while the airport property remains publicly owned," Norton wrote.

Advertising the sale of the airport to the private sector is the port's fourth priority.

The port is exploring appraisals. However, an appraisal is not required for this particular sale, Kuntz said Tuesday.

He and board members made clear their intent to keep the airport a public asset for public use. They said they wanted to pursue a private buyer, and attached a restrictive covenant stating the airport must be maintained as a public airport for at least 10 years.

Finally, if the port exhausts its public-private partnership options and has no interest from private buyers, the port said it would explore local partnerships to keep the airport open.

Mansfield Airport (copy)

Mansfield Airport's property is shown.

Opposition to the surplus is prominent among the aviation community.

Brad Schuster is the Alaska and Northwest Mountain regional manager for the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, AOPA.

He sent a letter to the port supporting Mansfield Airport staying open, on behalf of AOPA, in February.

“Despite its modest aviation activity, the airport serves critical functions in local safety, connectivity, and future development that cannot be easily replaced,” he wrote.

He added an airport surplus to the private sector would mitigate long-term growth potential.

Primary beneficiaries of the airport, Schuster wrote, are farmers, ranchers, and local businesses. They benefit from the airport infrastructure and its convenient location.

An invaluable asset the airport offers is public safety resources, according to Schuster. He wrote the airport delivers essential emergency responses during cases of medical emergencies, natural disasters, life-saving flights, and other extreme, life-safety incidents.

“Rather than selling it off, the focus should be on creative alternatives that preserve the airport’s value and enhance its contributions to Mansfield’s long-term future,” Schuster wrote.

He offered surplus alternatives: Establish partnerships with private aviation companies for multi-purpose applications, capture more state and federal funding, repurpose port resources and partner with universities to establish agriculture and technology incubator projects, and increase community engagement with the public to foster awareness, support, and public programming.

Schuster and AOPA are protesting the surplus and urge the port to “defer decision making with respect to declaring Mansfield Airport surplus pending further analysis and study.”

AOPA has more than 9,000 members from Washington and several hundred from the Wenatchee Valley.

World news editor Emily Thornton contributed to this report.

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