OLYMPIA, Wash. — Dawn Sonntag found her dream home in rural Thurston County in 2019.
“Moving here was a decades-long goal,” said Sonntag.
She's a composer who wanted to live in a peaceful place where she could write music.
“Most of the time I spend a lot of time sitting out here, I need the quiet,” said Sonntag. “I absolutely cannot have jet planes flying over me.”
Sonntag lives within one of three South Sound zones recently identified as potential commercial airport sites.
She organized the stoptheairport.com website and is planning a community meeting at Olympia’s Grace Community Covenant Church on Nov. 14 at 6:30 p.m.
Sonntag said she and fellow neighbors are worried about noise, air pollution, lower property values, and potentially having their homes purchased to make room for an airport.
“They’re not going to roll this over us without our voices,” said Sonntag. “We can’t afford to lose our homes.”
In an effort to handle a growing population and an increase in air travel, Washington state legislators established the Commercial Aviation Coordination Commission to come up with potential solutions.
According to estimates, the number of air travelers in western Washington is supposed to double, from 50 million to 100 million, by 2050.
Last month, the commission identified three potential new airport sites, two in rural Pierce County, near Graham and Roy, and one in Thurston County, southeast of Olympia.
The commission also said expanding Paine Field north of Seattle would help handle growing crowds.
Commissioners are expected to make a formal recommendation to legislators, naming one preferred site, in June 2023.
David Fleckenstein, head of aviation for the state’s Department of Transportation, said the plans are far from being finalized.
"It remains to be seen if the commission will actually recommend any of those three sites that are currently on the list,” said Fleckenstein.
He encourages citizens to share their thoughts with the commission at CACC@wsdot.wa.gov. He said concerned residents can get updates on the study by registering with the state at Washington State Department of Transportation.
The Pierce County executive and Thurston County commissioners have already written letters against having airports in their areas.
Fleckenstein said the state has heard the complaints, but he said doing nothing about the expected growth is not an option.
“You've seen some of the precursors if you've been in the airport on a real busy day,” said Fleckenstein. “Those problems will just amplify in the years to come.”
Editor's note: The article has been updated to reflect that the commissioners must make a recommendation by June 2023.