Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s plan to build an aviation training facility in the Ocala National Forest, complete with a paved airstrip, has been scaled back after considerable public opposition from neighbors and others concerned with rural conservation.
The 119-acre parcel is on Deep Woods Road in remote northeast Lake County. Student pilots using Cessna 172 aircraft based at the Daytona Beach campus would land at and take off from the Deep Woods airstrip.
Deep Woods Ranch Airstrip, which Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University is purchasing and planning to pave, rests within the Ocala National Forest in northeast Lake County.
Opponents have attacked the plan on several fronts, saying it will disrupt the peace of the forest, harm the habitat and its inhabitants, while also posing safety challenges. More than 1,100 people have signed petitions opposing the move.
Kathleen McQuarrie, who lives in Lake County but has a DeLand address, said she moved to the forest area a decade ago after having lived in the greater Orlando area because it made her feel as if she was stepping back in time, with hummingbirds and pitch-black night skies that allow for stargazing.
Kathleen McQuarrie, a resident of northeast Lake County, speaks out against Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s proposed rezoning of land in the Ocala National Forest, during a May 7 Planning and Zoning Board hearing in Tavares.
“There’s no words to describe how upset we are,” McQuarrie said, “and nothing against – my father was an Embry-Riddle graduate. He’s a retired Delta pilot. We love Embry-Riddle. We love aviation. But it’s not the place.”
What were ERAU’s plans for rural site and how did they change?
The property has been used as a cattle ranch with a grass runway by a private owner since 1987. Neighbors say changing from less than one flight daily to whatever volume Embry-Riddle will bring will bring a startling change.
In May, the university proposed a zoning change from agriculture to community facility district, which would allow for further development of the property, including a classroom, aircraft maintenance hangars and a drone and AI test center. The Lake County Planning and Zoning Board approved ERAU’s plan 4-1.
During that hearing, Rodney Cruise, Embry-Riddle’s chief operations officer, said the school uses an unpaved 2,800-foot-long airstrip in Jacksonville.
“Paved or unpaved, we can land, but obviously paved is safer,” Cruise said.
Then on June 3, with the rezoning on the Lake County Commission’s agenda, the university’s land-use attorney, Tara Tedrow, took the request off the table, acknowledging the “heartburn” it had caused neighbors.
“We heard that loud and clear,” Tedrow said.
Tedrow said with the current zoning and permits, ERAU has the authority to pave the airstrip and add one 10,000 square-foot hangar no taller than 25 feet.
In order to allow paving and construction crews better access to the airstrip property, ERAU will be widening to 20 feet dirt access roads that are in some spots as narrow as 9 feet, she said.
She pledged that the site will not be used after dark, or during inclement weather, and that no flights other than single-engine aircraft will be permitted to take off and land.
Last, Tedrow ruled out the use of any unmanned aerial vehicles.
In response to requests from The News-Journal for comment about its plans and whether it has completed the purchase of the property, the university only issued a one-sentence statement: “We will continue to work closely with residents and officials on options for Lake County.”
Clay Lake, a quiet recreational area of Lake County, is near an airstrip that is being purchased by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Some neighbors have expressed concerns that more frequent takeoffs and landings will disrupt the solitude of the lake.
Residents: ‘Tranquility and a slower pace of life’ at risk
Diana Williams, a Volusia County native who moved to Lake Mack, less than two miles from the airstrip, about 25 years ago, has circulated two petitions, including one on Change.org that have been collectively signed by about 1,100 people.
The Change.org petition says ERAU’s plan “threatens to disrupt the serene and close-knit community that many residents cherish,” risking the area’s environment and quality of life.
“Rural Florida boasts natural landscapes, tranquility and a slower pace of life that is well-suited for families, retirees and individuals looking for a peaceful living experience. The introduction of a busy airport will fundamentally alter this environment, leading to increased air traffic, noise pollution and environmental concerns.”
The infrastructure needed, such as widened roads and cleared acreage, “will likely lead to more increased urbanization.”
Williams also spoke to the planning and zoning board in May about how the forest’s magic lured her.
Diana Williams speaks out against Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s proposed rezoning of land in the Ocala National Forest, during a May 7 Planning and Zoning Board hearing in Tavares. Williams is a resident of Lake Mack, less than 2 miles from the airstrip parcel.
“This time of year there are thousands of fireflies. It is like a light show,” she said.
“We live here because we appreciate the forest,” Williams said. “We appreciate nature, and if you approve this, you are going to devastate one of the most beautiful areas in the forest.”
Cheyenne Shouse, also of Lake Mack, cited bird deaths and flooding concerns.
Another Lake Mack resident and Lake County native, Faith Attinger, cited concerns for other creatures, as well.
“When you have bear incidents in the Orlando area and Apopka area … do you know where they take them? They take them to the Ocala National Forest and the Seminole State Forest,” Attinger said. “That’s where they get dropped off. There are coyotes, bears, armadillos, raccoons, thousands of birds that all of us enjoy.”
Former Navy SEAL runs nonprofits for veterans next door
A key figure in the opposition to the ERAU plan is Rich Graham, a onetime member of the Navy SEAL 10 team who has since operated several businesses and nonprofits. He lives next door to the airstrip property.
Rich Graham speaks out against Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s proposed rezoning of land in the Ocala National Forest. Graham, a former Navy SEAL, lives next to the property and has concerns the project will disrupt his home and nonprofit aimed at helping fellow veterans.
“I moved to this location to get away from the suburban sprawl,” Graham told the planning and zoning board in May. “I sold everything I had and I did everything I could to have a home that was landlocked by the National Forest so I would not be in a position to where the city would catch up to me.
“And then here we are,” he said, “looking at this project that’s getting ready to come through.”
Graham, who has served as a law enforcement consultant, personal trainer and leadership coach, founded the Home Front K9 Project, which provides service dogs to active-duty military families and disabled veterans, as well as other organizations.
He also expressed specific concerns about ERAU’s plans to expand road access, and expressed concerns that his own property’s access could be harmed.
Clay Lake, a quiet recreational area of Lake County, is near an airstrip that is being purchased by Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Some neighbors have expressed concerns that more frequent takeoffs and landings will disrupt the solitude of the lake.
Tedrow later responded to that concern with an assurance.
“We can’t go landlock properties,” she said. “If there is any issue and we will get with the neighbor … his access, he is going to have access to his property. We cannot take away access to his property.”
Several Central Florida-area veterans spoke in support of Graham, praising him for his work and admonishing the Lake County planning board’s support of rezoning.
“We don’t have enough places where we can go to get the help that we need and to do the activities that we enjoy,” one said. “By you guys approving this airstrip, you are hindering your own veterans and your own people that fought for this country.”
One of Graham’s friends, a retired Army Ranger and lawyer from Orlando, Tae Shin, said ERAU is investing money in the airstrip to use it.
“OK, let’s put that airstrip next to your house,” Shin said. “And now you’ve got planes all day long touching down and taking off, buzzing, doing, like a Figure 8 pattern over that airstrip and … just constantly landing and taking off all day. I wouldn’t like that if that happened next door to my house.”
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Embry-Riddle decelerates airstrip plans in Ocala National Forest