Expansion of the Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport:

The airport opened on May 1, 1929, on an abandoned nine-hole golf course. As World War II approached the Navy purchased it and improved the airfield. Broward County acquired it three years after the end of the war and operated it as a general aviation facility. In the years since then, airport use has steadily grown. However, in the last few years the growth has been phenomenal. The Department of Transportation reports that the airport use has grown by 52% from 1995 to 1999. Current passenger count is 16 million annually. Thus, increasing demand for capacity necessitated an evaluation of the airport's facilities.

In 1992, Broward County initiated an update of the airport’s 1987 Master Plan. The results of the process indicated that there is a lack of a back-up runway in the event that the primary commercial aircraft runway (9L-27R) is closed for rehabilitation, maintenance or due to an incident. The Master Planning process also revealed that a long-term deficiency is a lack of airfield capacity to meet projected demand with acceptable delays. Airport officials project that there will be 32-36 million passengers by 2020.

Several local governmental entities approved the concept of airport expansion including Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, Dania Beach and the South Florida Regional Planning Council. Hollywood adopted Ordinance O-97-35 in September 1997 that provided development approval for an expansion of the Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport subject to conditions. Prior to this, Hollywood's Planning and Zoning Advisory Board conducted a public hearing in April 1997, and the Commission conducted public hearings in May, June and July 1997.

The City of Hollywood did impose certain conditions upon the expansion in the following areas: air quality, stormwater management, water and energy conservation, landscaping, economic disparity, hazardous materials, police and fire services, wetlands and excavations, archaeological and historical resources, traffic improvements, and noise. Of these areas, the issues of noise and air quality may create the most impact upon Hollywood residents.

The constraints included annual noise contour modeling based on prior year and current noise monitoring data conducted by the County. Operations on the extended south runway shall be prohibited between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. until the County modifies the operations of the south runway based upon airport requirements. If at any time, the required projected five-year noise exposure map reflects that a portion of any residential properties, which are located within the City, will be exposed to day-night average sound levels greater than or equal to 65 decibels because of the proposed extension, then the County will amend the Noise Compatibility Program to include a noise mitigation program. See chart for common outdoor/indoor sound levels.

On February 5, 2001, the Federal Aviation Administration released the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS). The DEIS details the proposed alternatives for runway expansion and the possible impacts on noise, air quality, pollution, and wetlands. There are 17 alternatives and a No Action Alternative, which establishes a baseline. The alternatives were evaluated and three selected for more detailed review.

Proposed Alternatives
Proposed Project - The Proposed Project includes the extension of the south runway (9R-27L) to the east by about 3,644 for a total length of 8920 and widening it by 50 feet for a total width of 150 feet. It also involves the elevation of runway 9R-27L to a minimum of 37.5 feet mean sea level and construction of a bridge to provide clearance over the Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad and U.S. 1.
Alternative A - This option would involve replacing the existing north runway 9L-27R with two new parallel, elevated, runways separated by 800 feet, one on each side of the existing runway.
Alternative B - This option is virtually identical to Alternative A except that the runways would not be elevated. Instead the FEC Railroad would be relocated.

Although, according to the DEIS, the City of Hollywood is not significantly impacted by the Proposed Project, residents living in the northern sections of the City have expressed concerns. To acknowledge these concerns, the City of Hollywood also commented upon the DEIS. The primary concerns are the potential decrease in property value, potential increase in noise and air pollution, an increase in flight frequency for larger aircrafts and potential impact on single family residential land uses within the flight contours.

In order to address residents’ concerns about the proposed expansion of the Fort Lauderdale – Hollywood International Airport, the Hollywood City Commission passed a resolution on September 5, 2001, that included the following actions:

• Opposing the proposed expansion of the south runway at the airport
• Creating a citywide Airport Advisory Committee
• Expressing great concern for the 2020 Vision for future airport expansion
• Recommending that Broward County create an Airport Advisory Committee.

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