Carson City Airport master plan update could include self-storage, hangars, terminal

The Carson City Airport is updating its master plan.

The main goal is to find new ways for the airport to make money and be ready to expand its business.

“What we’d like to see happen is for the consultant to look at the best possible way for the airport to develop land for hangars and if there’s a way we can generate revenues from non-aeronautical uses,” said Tim Rowe, airport manager.

Those non-aeronautical uses could include developing approximately 25 acres of empty land at the airport for other types of business unrelated to the airport.

“It could be used for self-storage,” said Rowe.

The acreage is primarily at the east end of the airport and is unusable for aviation purposes, said Rowe.

The 740-acre airport has 186 hangars, all privately owned, and has a waiting list for more.

“There’s room to build hangars but, unfortunately, there’s been no development on the airport since 2007,” said Rowe.

The master plan will also likely address at least one other need at the airport.

“They may say Carson City Airport needs a new terminal,” said Rowe. “They may come up with a terminal plan, they may come with dimensions for it.”

The existing terminal has long been in disrepair and last year the Airport Authority voted to repair the roof and mitigate mold there instead of razing the building, which was the costlier option seriously considered.

The increase in airport business Rowe is forecasting is coming primarily from one source.

“We are expecting a lot of positive growth simply because of the industrial park,” in Storey County, the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center, he said.

The consultant developing the plan is Coffman and Associates, which did the airport’s previous plan, written in 2002 and approved in 2004.

That plan outlined the realignment of the runway, which was extended 600-700 feet and moved northward at its eastern end.

“We have completed nearly all projects in that Master Plan including the ramp reconstruction which was done last summer,” read the airport staff report for the Board of Supervisors, which last week accepted a $440,625 grant from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to draft the plan.

The plan previous to that, done in 1989, called out needs for sewer, water and other infrastructure, additional hangars and an automatic weather observation system.

Rowe expects the new plan, like old ones, to take two years.

“The master plan is kind of a long, drawn out negotiation,” he said.

That includes back and forth with the FAA, which requires the master plan update, as well as input from local officials and citizens.

The plan update will be overseen by an advisory panel likely consisting of Rowe, Airport Authority members, representatives from the FAA and Nevada Department of Transportation, airport users and tenants, and members of the community.

And public meetings will be held at the airport for the public to comment.

Rowe doesn’t think this plan should create the same kind of controversy the last one did, when neighbors were worried about the impact of runway changes.

“Most of the complaints we get are about airplane noise,” said Rowe. “But we’ve already eliminated all we can.”