Vermont residents renew opposition to BETA CEO's private airstrip

Residents of Lincoln, Vermont, restated their objections Monday to a planned 900-foot private airstrip at the home of Kyle Clark, chief executive of the electric aircraft maker BETA Technologies. Roughly 75 people turned out for a community meeting on the proposal, according to local television.

The landing area belongs to the Clark family, not to BETA. Earlier reporting and court filings say it is meant for their own use, including leisure flying and commuting.

Those opposed point to aircraft flying close to houses and trees in the mountainous terrain, and to what they say could be a change to the town's rural character. Resident Michael O'Connor told the meeting that the concerns include public safety and operations at a 900-foot runway set down a hill in a valley, in a region where winds and weather are hard to predict.

Clark first applied for local approval of the personal landing area in 2022. The town turned the application down, and Clark and his wife Katie appealed. Last year a Vermont Environmental Division court ruled that a graded grass strip of that length could satisfy the town's conditional-use requirements if traffic were capped at two takeoffs and two landings a day. An ungraded version, the court found, could qualify as an accessory use without the daily limit.

Neighbours brought in an aviation safety consultant over the summer and have asked for a public hearing before the Federal Aviation Administration, state transportation officials and the Vermont Transportation Board.

The Clark family said in a statement released Monday that the FAA had judged the landing area safe and permissible, that the Vermont Agency of Transportation had inspected the site and found it safe, and that the agency had recommended approval to the Transportation Board. The family said it has been through the required permitting and safety review for more than four years.

A decision from the state remains outstanding.