PILOTING THE PERFECT MOVE

I really wish there was an airport in Sandy Springs. I think that every growing city needs a nice airport to help it grow. PDK (DeKalb Peachtree Airport) is a great asset that adds to the community. (There are many people who would disagree) I am biased since I love going to the airport and watching the planes taking off and landing. I am a self described airplane nut. I like everything airplanes.

According to the FAA, Sandy Springs has 109 registered aircraft owners and 271 licensed pilots (not including student pilots). I think this would be a great start to argue that all these aircraft owners and pilots need an airport close to where they live. Politically, these owners and pilots would be a great demographic for any aspiring local politician. Maybe Mayor Galambos and our fine Sandy Springs City Council will put aside their work to find a plush nice City Hall home and start buying some acreage to put a nice airport with a 6000 ft runway that can handle many types of aircraft. A crosswind runway would be nice as well. I think we can make the surrounding areas green space as well. We can call it Sandy Springs City Airport (SSC).

Do you think we need an airport?

The Census Bureau reported that the percentage of vacant homes rose from 2.7% in Q3 to 2.8% in Q4. They also reported that the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta area had a vacancy rate of 4.7%. Not surprisingly, the largest growth was in the depopulating rust belt and the homebuilder meccas of the south and southwest. Some statistics from among 75 major metropolitan areas:

* Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater rate rose from 1.8% in 2005 to 5.1% in 2007.
* Miami-Ft Lauderdale rate rose from 2.3% in 2005 to 4.4% in 2007.
* Riverside-San Bernardino rate rose from 1.2% in 2005 to 3.8% in 2007.
* Sacramento rate rose from 1.2% in 2005 to 4.2% in 2007.
* Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale rate rose from 1% in 2005 to 3.7% in 2007.

Orlando had the highest vacancy rate among the metropolitan areas at 7.4%, followed by Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater (5.1%), Las Vegas-Paradise (4.9%), and Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta (4.7%).