BRENHAM CITY COUNCIL APPROVES TEMPORARY MORATORIUM ON NEW LAND LEASES AT AIRPORT

  

New development at the Brenham Municipal Airport will be limited as the City of Brenham prepares a new airport master plan.

Brenham City Councilmembers voted Thursday to institute a temporary moratorium on new land leases at the airport.  The moratorium will be in effect until the master plan is adopted.  Development Services Director Stephanie Doland said the plan is expected to be complete by December 2023 or January 2024.

Doland said the city is working with Coffman Associates, an airport master planning consultant, and TxDOT’s Aviation Division to create the plan, which provides a strategy for development of the airport.  She said it has been many years since the plan was updated.

 

Doland noted that the moratorium does not affect current land leases.  For example, in a situation where the owner of an existing hangar wanted to transfer ownership to someone else, she said the moratorium would not prevent that.  Appeals for relief of a hardship caused by the moratorium can be made to the city council.

Brent Nedbalek, owner of Triton Air and Aviators Plus, said he does not want the moratorium to stunt growth at the airport while the rest of the city develops.

 

Mayor Milton Tate said the city is not trying to penalize anybody with the moratorium, but it needs to get the master plan done, and one of the requirements of that is to stop progress at the airport for a period of time to determine what operations should look like.

Councilmember Atwood Kenjura said in order to look to the future, it is “almost required” to have to say no to new development to make sure the city’s infrastructure can handle it.  He added that if Nedbalek or anyone has something they need to bring before councilmembers for consideration, he said “that’s what the council is for.”