MEDFORD, Ore.- Medford’s airport is making changes .to make it easier to get new businesses into the Rogue Valley.
The FAA is currently considering a proposal to change certain portions of the airport from aeronautical use to non-aeronautical use. Airport Director Jerry Brienza says this is an effort to give more control of the land to the county and airport officials, rather than the FAA.
When the land is controlled by the FAA, the process to approve a new business takes much longer. Brienza says requiring that level of commitment from a business and then asking them to wait out the process means it may find it more appealing to build elsewhere.
He says the idea to shift the land use and control began when a hotel developer asked about building near the airport.
“We’ve got a lot of property, not just the one the hotel developer is looking at. But we had 30 to 35 parcels on the airport that we probably needed to get released from FAA control so we could move a little bit quicker,” he explained.
He says this is about two years in the making, but should be finalized by mid-July.
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