Clearwater extends airpark lease to 30 years, raising neighbors’ concerns

One year into a five-year lease between the city and the new Clearwater Airpark operator, that commitment has been extended by decades.

The City Council agreed Thursday to amend its lease with FlyUSA to 30 years, with five five-year renewal options subject to approval by both parties. While the deal was approved unanimously, it exposed strong feelings among residents about the airpark’s place in the community.

FlyUSA requested the extension because it is preparing to spend $2.4 million on upgrades like a new terminal and additional hangars and wanted a guarantee it would have access to its investment, according to Marine and Aviation director Michael MacDonald.

CEO Barry Shevlin said he thought Florida Department of Transportation grants would cover 80% of the improvements when his company entered into the lease last year. But he has since learned the grants would cover 50%.

“The capital we’re going to have to invest is now significantly more,” Shevlin told the council.

The initial lease that began in March 2023 was for five years with one five-year renewal at the discretion of FlyUSA and four subsequent five-year renewals subject to mutual agreement.

It marked the first management change in 20 years for the airpark, which opened in 1939 when Clearwater was still developing amid miles of citrus groves. Today, as the facility operates amid a densely populated city, recent events have brought it into sharper focus.

After dark on Feb. 1, a plane crashed into a mobile home on the eastern edge of the city, killing three, after the pilot could not find the airpark, where he was supposed to land. A preliminary report released by the National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday confirmed pilot Jemin Patel could not see the runway even though the runway lights were on. He also reported a fire and that he was “losing engine” in final radio transmissions, according to the report.

The Tampa Bay Times previously reported that Clearwater Airpark is unlike most other public general aviation airports in that it doesn’t have a rotating beacon, a common feature that serves as a kind of lighthouse for planes at night.

MacDonald said the city plans to have a beacon installed next year but first must complete a survey and geotechnical study to determine the placement and height, a process initiated last year.

Residents told the council Thursday that many neighbors would rather see the airpark close before dark instead of adding a beacon. Takeoffs and landings are allowed from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m.

They also worried about a beacon flashing into people’s homes and disturbing the nocturnal natural environment.

“The air traffic is noxious and the only way to prevent another tragedy — the only 100% guarantee — is to limit nighttime flights or eliminate them completely,” said Melissa Stamos, who lives near the airpark.

Assistant City Manager Daniel Slaughter said a beacon can be designed so it is directed upward and will not be a nuisance to neighbors. “We have no desire to shine a flashing light in people’s homes,” he said.

Sarajane Maran, another neighbor, said she wants to see more accountability for pilots who land after the 11 p.m. cutoff. As FlyUSA is working to make the airpark profitable, she said the city must consider safety and quality of life for residents. She asked that flights be allowed only between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m.

FlyUSA plans for its new hangars to accommodate turboprop aircraft, which residents have also protested. But Shevlin said his company has been working toward improving operations for its neighbors. He said he reduced the use of helicopters at the flight school, calling it “by far the single biggest complaint of the neighborhood.” And the company has added safety measures like new fuel tanks and equipment upgrades, he said.

To amend the lease, the council also had to declare the airpark surplus, a technical requirement of the city charter that does not transfer ownership of the land, City Attorney David Margolis explained.

But the surplus and lease extension actions drew suspicions from neighbors about future plans of the airpark.

“We all know where extending this lease is headed, contrary to what is spoken — an expanded airpark in our residential neighborhood,” Stamos said. “We are not so naive to believe this isn’t the case.”

Margolis, however, confirmed that the footprint of the airpark was not changing with these actions. The council would not be able to lease or sell the city-owned Landings Golf Course on the western edge of the airpark for any use other than open space without a voter referendum, he said.

The legal description of the airpark parcel included in the FlyUSA lease also shows the boundary extending into a portion of the city-owned Marymont Park just south of the runway. Margolis said this “is a result of old platting” and that nothing in the agreement gives FlyUSA authority to expand into the park or beyond the airpark’s current footprint.

“The footprint physically … of the (airpark) real estate is not changing, will not change,” Margolis said.