Please see our latest update as of Nov 12, 2019 here. This has also been shared with Orcas Issue and an abbreviated version with the Island Sounder.
Drafts of Chapter 1, 2, 3 and 4 are available for review below. A revised preferred alternative is also available below. Additional chapters will be be made available for review as they are completed and approved. The public comment log was also updated as of the end of 2018. Please submit any comments directly to orcasmasterplan@dowl.com. Any comments received will be considered after the public review of the full draft master plan report.
Master Plan
The Airport is currently completing an Airport Master Plan that will guide development over the next 20 years. The master plan began in early September with an aeronautical survey to collect obstruction data and an inventory of the Airport’s existing facilities. The master plan technical research, analysis and recommendations work concluded in March 2019. The Master Plan is currently waiting for FAA approval on the Airport Layout Plan (ALP). Once approval of the ALP is received the full draft master plan report will be published for public comment. We encourage you to review Chapters 1-4 in advance of the full draft report. Any comments received in 2019 will be considered in the final master plan report (expected publish date TBD).
An Airport Master Plan is very similar to a book, as it has various chapters. The draft master plan chapters will be made available for review below as they are completed. When the full draft report is available for public review the public will be notified through the project email list.
Introduction: (Coming soon)
Chapter 1: Inventory of Existing Conditions (Draft reviewed by Sponsor and approved by Airport Manager – subject to revisions as required)
Chapter1_InventoryofExistingConditions.reduced
Chapter 2: Aviation Demand Forecasts (Approved by FAA) – Chapter 2. ORS Forecasts_draft
Chapter 3: Facility Requirements (Draft reviewed by Sponsor and approved by Airport Manager – subject to revisions as required) Chapter 3. ORS Facility Requirement_ draft
Chapter 4: Alternatives (Draft reviewed by Sponsor and approved by Airport Manager – subject to revisions as required by FAA)Chapter 4. DRAFT Development Alternatives v4-OPTIMIZEDforWEB_Part1
Chapter 4. DRAFT Development Alternatives v4-OPTIMIZEDforWEB_Part 2_reduced
Chapter 5: ALP (Coming soon)
Chapter 6: Implementation and Financial Feasibility (Coming soon)
Appendices: (Coming soon)
Public Involvement Plan
The public will have opportunities to participate throughout the Master Plan process. Public meetings were completed by September 2018. Additional presentations to the Port Commissioners will occur as needed.
Postcards were sent to each household on the island at the beginning of the project in fall 2017. A Project Advisory Committee has been established with members of the Port, FAA, WSDOT, San Juan County, the EPRC, and other key tenants on the airfield to provide technical feedback and guidance throughout the project. The Advisory Committee will meet three times over the course of the project. Three public open houses with two times (afternoon and evening) will be held to allow the public to visit with the Project Team and learn about the project. Project communications will take place electronically through an email contact list. To sign up for the list please sign up below or contact the Project Team at orcasmasterplan@dowl.com. The Project Team will also work with local news sources to provide information and press releases regarding project information and meetings.
Comments are accepted throughout the project and can be submitted anytime to orcasmasterplan@dowl.com.
January Public Open House
The first Public Open House was held on Wednesday, January 10th, 2018 at the Orcas Island Fire & Rescue at 45 Lavender Lane, Eastsound, Wash. Project team members discussed the project with members of the public. A copy of the information provided during the meeting is available here: Public Open House 1 PresentationBoard.
June Public Open House
The second Public Open House was held Tuesday, June 5th at 1pm – 2pm and 5pm – 6:30pm at the Orcas Island Fire & Rescue 45 Lavender Lane, Eastsound, Wash. Project team members discussed the project, inventory, facility requirements, aviation forecast, and preliminary alternatives. All comments received by August 3 will be considered in the development of the preferred alternative.
September Public Open House
The third Public Open House meeting was held scheduled Wednesday, September 19th at 1pm – 2pm at Orcas Island Fire & Rescue 45 Lavender Lane, Eastsound, Washington and from 5pm – 8:30 pm at Orcas Center 917 Mt Baker Rd, Eastsound, Washington. Formal presentations were given at 5:30pm and 7:30pm for 30 minutes. The two presentations were identical and there was 30 minutes for public questions immediately following the presentation. The presentation and Q&A can be found here: POH #3 and Q&A pdf for website.
Public comments were accepted on the preferred alternative from September 5 to October 5, 2018.
Please remember that public comments must be formally submitted by sending an email to orcasmasterplan@dowl.com or by calling Project Manager Leah Whitfield at (425) 869-2670.
Public Open House # 3 Information for Review
ORS Alternatives Evaluation_table
Draft Preferred Development graphics:
Compressed versions:
Final Preferred Alternative (Updated November 1, 2019)
The final preferred alternative graphic is available below. Please note the change in the final preferred alternative reflects Mt. Baker Road remaining in the current location. Mt. Baker Road is an incompatible land use within the runway protection zone (RPZ) and will need to be addressed in a future planning study to determine the feasibility of relocation outside the RPZ.
Advisory Committee – The following is a list of parties invited to participate in the Advisory Committee for the Master Plan:
| Rick | Hughes | County Councilman – District 2 | San Juan County |
| Jackie | Hamilton | Owner, President & Director of Operations | Island Air, Inc. |
| Marc | Franklin | Vice President | Aero Services, Inc. |
| Phil | Peterson | Station Mgr | FedEx |
| Robert | Stansus | Chief Pilot | AirMed |
| Sarah | F | Customer Service Mgr | Kenmore Air |
| Jason | Douglas | Owner | San Juan Airlines |
| Jennifer | Kandel | Airport Planner | FAA |
| Paul | Kamin | Co Chair | EPRC |
| Eric | Johnson | Construction & Grants Program Manager | WSDOT |
| Malcolm | Goodfellow | represents self | General Aviation |
| Michael | Parnell | represents self | General Aviation |
| Greg | Kokorowski | Operations | Kenmore Air |
| Charles | Toxey | Owner | Kangaroo House B&B |
| Dan | Parrish | Chief | Empire Airlines |
PUBLIC COMMENTS
All comments received are catalogued here: ORS MP Comments thru Dec 2018
Files submitted with comments and referenced therein are
#184 Attachment Paul Anderson Comment Gerard Memo 7-12
#234 Attachment 2 Tina Whitman FSJ_Port_Of_Orcas_Master_Plan_Comment_Final_w_attachments
#236 Attachment Evelyn Fuchser EmergencyResponseandStreetDesign
#238 Attachment Paul Anderson Orcas Island Airport Master Plan Comments 9-13-18
Orcas Island Master Plan Alternatives
To review and download the alternatives please see links below. One single file in a reduced size or multiple pages at a larger size are available. Please also review the Public Meeting #1 boards for more information prior to reviewing the alternatives.
To review a brief description of each alternative and how each alternative meets (or does not meet) FAA design standards, potential impacts to wetlands and land uses please review the Alternatives evaluation criteria document: ALTEvaluation-HighRes-OH2
Please review the following documents to better understand the FAA standards/requirements and pros and cons of each alternative in more detail.
Facility Requirements – Summary Tables
Combined in one reduced file: Orcas Alternatives Combined reduced
If you would like to submit a comment, please send an email to orcasmasterplan@dowl.com.
Future communication for this project will be primarily electronic and we encourage you to sign up for our email list to stay up-to-date on the progress of the project by emailing orcasmasterplan@dowl.com.
PREVIOUS MASTER PLANS
The Port was asked for the reports from previous planning efforts and physical copies were available for public viewing at the Airport for approximately 2 months in the summer and early fall. As stated repeatedly, many of the concepts in the current plan were there in 1994. The links below will take you to digital copies of the 1994 and 2008 Master Plans. As also noted regularly, the 2008 “Master Plan” was a superficial effort that was of limited scope (Approach feasibility).
Port of Orcas 1994 Master Plan Final Report
Orcas Island Airport Instrument Approach Feasibility Study and ALP
If you missed on the Main Page
Resolution 2018 09 18A Aspirational Statement Regarding Eminent
Project Contact:
Leah Whitfield, Project Manager
425-869-2670