Palm Beach County will hire consultants to review flight training at North County Airport after Avenir noise complaints. The longer runway is still in design, with no build date.

Palm Beach County plans to hire consultants to look at flight training at North County Airport and recommend ways to cut the noise over nearby neighborhoods. The county’s Department of Airports told Avenir residents so at a community meeting on Nov. 4.

The department posted its Avenir community meeting presentation (PDF) on the airport’s project page. It is also clear about the limits. “While we are committed to identifying potential opportunities to reduce noise impacts, there are no quick or simple solutions,” the presentation says.

The next day, the Palm Beach Gardens City Council was scheduled to hear a presentation on the proposed airport expansion from Laura Beebe, the county’s director of airports, according to its Nov. 5 agenda (PDF).

What the county plans to do about noise

The presentation lists three next steps:

  • engage consultants to review current flight training and recommend ways to reduce the impact on the community
  • weigh any changes in the airport’s upcoming master plan update, where a recommendation would need new or changed airport facilities
  • work with pilots, tenants and residents so the public can follow and take part

The county warned that any improvements “are likely to be incremental” and “will not result in the elimination of aircraft overflights or noise due to the proximity to the airport.”

It also said it cannot ban or restrict flight training. Flight paths, air traffic control and aircraft in flight are under the Federal Aviation Administration’s exclusive authority. The county said it can work with flight schools, pilots and the FAA on voluntary noise abatement procedures and pilot education.

The airport handles about 100,000 takeoffs and landings a year and has more than 250 based aircraft, according to the presentation. The businesses there include fixed-wing flight schools, the county’s airport page says.

The airport’s use rules go back to its 1990 interlocal agreement with the city. Under Exhibit B of that agreement (PDF), the county agreed to “restrict flight training activities to non-populated areas” through the leases of the businesses that run flight training. The county’s airport page asks every operator to follow those rules.

Avenir buyers were told about the airport

The presentation quotes the city’s 2016 approval for Avenir, Resolution 4, 2016. Its Condition of Approval No. 124 requires a notice in the homeowners association declaration of any Avenir community within the airport’s flight paths.

That notice tells buyers the property “is in the vicinity of” the airport and that owners “may be subject to varying degrees of potential noise and other impacts from operations conducted at, above, or within the vicinity of the Airport.”

The longer runway: designed, not funded

The runway extension, which went to a public workshop and hearing in May 2024, has not started. The county gives its status this way:

Runway 14/32 Today Planned
Length 4,300 feet 6,000 feet (1,700 feet added to the northwest)
Width 75 feet 100 feet

The project also extends the parallel taxiway and moves the airport’s entrance road. An environmental assessment was finished in December 2024 with a finding of no significant impact. The work is “currently under design,” and the county said the construction timeline depends on funding.

The county says the longer runway would let some aircraft take off without cutting fuel, cargo or passengers, and would give larger safety margins in bad weather and heat. It also told residents:

  • arrival and departure paths would not change
  • no airline service can operate at the airport, which does not meet the certification rules
  • yearly operations are forecast to rise about 2.3% within five years of completion, about 49 more a week
  • the forecast noise contours stay within airport property, with a slight increase to the northwest

A control tower, and its price

The city of Palm Beach Gardens asked the county to pursue an air traffic control tower once the runway is extended. The county said a tower has its own finding of no significant impact, the airport is a candidate in the FAA’s Federal Contract Tower program, and an FAA siting study is underway. Funding in that program is limited.

The presentation puts a conventional tower at about $35 million. A digital tower, which uses cameras and sensors in place of a cab and can serve more than one airport, would cost about $14 million to build. The county noted that most U.S. airports, including some busier ones, operate safely without a tower.

The land by Beeline Highway

The airport has about 131 acres next to Beeline Highway set aside for non-aviation use. The county says that land can only be used for things compatible with the airport, which rules out homes but would generally allow industrial or commercial uses. A sale or lease needs approval from both the County Commission and the FAA, and the money can only go back into the county’s airports.

About 40 more acres are set aside for a second fixed-base operator, the business that fuels, parks and services private aircraft. Signature Aviation is the only one there now.

Two unsolicited offers have come in, according to the presentation:

  • Jet Greene LLC proposed buying the 131 acres and leasing aviation land for a new fixed-base operator. The county evaluated it but did not accept it.
  • Sky Harbour Group Corp. proposed a fixed-base operator and related buildings. That proposal went to the commission and was not accepted either.

County staff were told to bring back a framework for a request for proposals, so other developers can bid. “No decisions have been made at this time,” the presentation says.

What it means for you

  • If planes over your home are the issue, the consultant review of flight training is the step to watch. It has no date yet. The county’s presentation is the best summary of what it can and cannot control.
  • The runway is not about to be built. It is in design, and the county has tied the start to funding.
  • The land question is still open. Any sale or lease of the 131 acres goes to a public County Commission vote first, and then to the FAA.
  • Planning documents for the runway, including the final environmental assessment, are on the airport’s project page. The Department of Airports also presented to the North County Neighborhood Coalition on Oct. 27; that presentation (PDF) covers the runway, the tower and the land.