EMMETT, Idaho — Gem County commissioners have approved plans for a 19-home subdivision off Brill Road in Emmett, and a private grass airstrip at its center may be next — if it clears a public hearing.
The project, known as Flying Thunderbolt Ranch, is being co-developed by twin brothers Jay Labrum and Andy Labrum, who are both former military pilots. The subdivision will be built in two phases — 10 lots in the first phase and 9 lots in a second phase planned for a couple of years later — each lot spanning 5 acres. A 20-acre common area in the middle of the subdivision would serve as the proposed grass airstrip.
Labrum said the subdivision is expected to be completed by mid to late summer, with the airstrip's future depending on the outcome of the special use permit process.
WATCH: Learn more about the proposed airstrip
Mindy Topol has lived on Brill Road for 21 years, just 900 feet from the proposed airstrip.
"We moved from Vegas ... and we wanted a serene, quiet life," Topol said.
She said construction traffic has already changed the feel of the road.
"We remember when you would maybe see 5 cars a day; now you're seeing 5 cars in 20 minutes."
Topol said she worked with the sheriff's office to get a speed monitoring device placed on the road, but said drivers regularly exceed the posted 35 mph limit — a speed she already considers too fast for a dirt road.
"These people don't do 35. They do 50, 60," Topol said.
She added that the dust from construction traffic is affecting her household and her animals, which include close to 40 goats, a couple of sheep, two cows, horses and dogs.
"My house is constantly full of dust. My animals are hacking, coughing."
Topol said she also alerted a neighboring rancher about the dust after her own calves developed dust pneumonia, noting that calves are particularly susceptible. She noted planes flying over nearby cattle that are not behind hot wire fencing could also cause the animals to bolt into ditches.
"If I wanted to live near an airport, I would have moved near an airport. I don't need an airport brought to me."
She raised additional safety concerns, citing recent aviation accidents in the area — including the deaths of a pilot who performed aerial mosquito abatement and Gem County Commissioner Lance Smith — as reasons the airstrip does not belong near homes and livestock.
Topol also questioned how the airstrip's operational restrictions would be enforced over time.
"You say, OK, yeah, bring in your planes, but they're only gonna be single engine oh here comes a double engine, who's gonna know? Who's gonna say anything? Who's gonna do anything?" Topol said.
She said she also has concerns about the road improvement timeline, citing her understanding that county commissioners had required the road to be paved before any homes could be sold.
"Kirk Wille specifically said the road had to be paved or no homes. And that's where that should stop," Topol said.
Topol stated she has been in contact with Gem County Commissioner Mark Rekow about the construction traffic and dust, and wants the process to follow the agreed upon order.
"I think we need to put this back on track, the road, then your homes," Topol said.
Phil Cheney, who has lived about three-quarters of a mile north of the project for 17 years, said he did not object to the subdivision itself, but drew the line at the airstrip.
Cheney said the noise comparison in the developers' application is misleading, noting that it measures aircraft sound at a quarter mile away and compares it to a truck or car measured at just 50 feet.
He also raised concerns about the soil conditions on the property, saying his own experience building nearby required bringing in thousands of yards of pit run material because the ground is soft and sand-based. He noted construction equipment with pneumatic tires caused significant rutting and that materials testing specialists warned against running such equipment on the site.
"They may be looking at a real mess there, and that being the case, then they're gonna be forced to put in a regular airfield, and that negates what he's proposing with the grass field taking care of the sound," Cheney said.
Cheney also questioned the developers' projected flight numbers.
"Who's gonna spend half a million dollars to move into a subdivision with their airplane and only fly it once a week?"
He said many residents are likely to be commuters flying daily, and that a 19-plane operation is not simply a private airstrip.
"I hope that they realize that a subdivision with 19 planes and an airfield is not just an airfield, it is an airport," Cheney said.
He noted that 2 landing strips already exist 3 miles to the east and that the Emmett Airport is 7 miles away, meaning the new airstrip's aircraft would need to share that airspace.
Cheney also raised concerns about wind. He said the developers' plans show aircraft departing to the north over the bench, but that the area has a prevailing south wind that could force planes to fly in the opposite direction — over neighboring homes.
"If the wind is coming out of the south, they're not gonna be able to do that, and we have a prevailing south wind here. So they're going to end up coming this direction and not going the other way, even though they're proposing that they do that," Cheney said.
He added that flying against the wind in a small aircraft is dangerous and that not all residents of the airpark would necessarily have the skill to handle it.
On enforcement, Cheney said leaving rule compliance to the HOA is not a reliable safeguard.
"I can see down the road as this matures that there's going to be all kinds of problems because people are not going to follow those rules and nobody's going to enforce them either," Cheney said.
Jim Weaver has lived less than 2 miles directly south of the proposed airstrip for 33 years. He said he opposed the subdivision from the start and noted that planning and zoning separated the subdivision and airstrip applications from the beginning — a decision he said made it easier for the project to advance in stages.
"I think once they get the airport approved for the airplanes that they're talking about, next is, well, we'd like to do helicopters out here. And then let the hang gliders come out here. So it's just gonna be a progression," Weaver said.
Weaver's concerns center on public safety. He spent 42 years in law enforcement, including 26 years with an agency that operated an aero bureau with helicopters, and has military experience that included flying repair missions and exposure to fixed-wing aircraft. He said he witnessed multiple crashes and deaths in both settings.
"I just don't want to be one of the casualties of sightseers," Weaver said.
Weaver said increased air traffic brings increased risk, particularly on weekends when the area already draws visitors for scenic drives. He said pilots flying to the area may circle or divert over homes, especially when wind conditions prevent the northward departure route the developers have proposed.
He cited a plane crash in the valley the previous month and referenced the death of a Gem County commissioner who was a pilot and died along with his wife in a takeoff-related accident.
Weaver said he acknowledged that Jay Labrum has been proactive in reaching out to neighbors and called him a very intelligent man, but said the increased air traffic is simply not compatible with the area.
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Weaver added that county enforcement of any restrictions is unlikely to be consistent.
"They can restrict hours and whatnot, but it's not going to be enforced, you know, they just don't have the mechanisms for it," Weaver said.
Weaver encouraged anyone who has not yet heard about the proposal to attend the June 8 hearing.
"I think people should be involved and notified," Weaver said.
Co-developer Jay Labrum said the developers have gone beyond federal, state and industry guidelines on noise, banning twin-engine aircraft, turbine aircraft, and night flying.
"We're not going to allow twin-engine aircraft out here, no turbine aircraft, no night flying out here."
"Those are not requirements by law or even recommendations for airstrips. We've decided to do that to help control noise," Labrum said.
He added that the flight path for departures, aided by prevailing winds, is designed to avoid homes. By the time aircraft reach altitude over any homes, Labrum said they would be at the same elevation as any other plane flying over the area.
Labrum said improving Brill Road is a requirement tied to the subdivision's county approval and will happen before lots go on sale, though the exact paving method has not been determined.
"Not paved necessarily, but improved… There's a chip seal, which is like a cold pave, and then there is a hot asphalt process that is out there, but we don't know exactly which process that is," Labrum said.
He said fully paving the mile-long county road would be cost-prohibitive for a 19-lot subdivision, but that the developers are working with the county road and development departments on a solution.
"The road will be improved, and there will be no dust, and I think that's the big concern of the neighbors," Labrum said.
Labrum said the operational restrictions will be written into the subdivision's CC&Rs and HOA rules, as well as county requirements. He also pointed to a broader hangar shortage across the region as context for why a private airpark makes sense, noting waiting lists of 7 or more years at airports in Emmett, Nampa and Caldwell.
He said he and his brother have been engaging with neighbors through Facebook, a project website, and in-person neighborhood meetings for nearly 3 years, and welcome continued outreach.
"We just really want to be good neighbors because we plan on living out here as well, we just want to make sure that it's a community that is respected amongst the neighbors out here in West Gem County," Labrum said.
Topol said she is not opposed to the developers personally but believes the project is wrong for the area. She is urging community members who support the agricultural character of the neighborhood to attend the June 8 hearing.
"It's just against our agricultural way of life. It's against our animals. It's against our way of life. It's against our, our, our sanity," Topol said.
The special use permit for the Flying Thunderbolt Ranch airstrip will be discussed at Gem County's public hearing on June 8 at 6 p.m. inside the Gem County Annex.
