North County Airport hangar rental fees going skyward, some pilots say: Pilots say they are being priced out; officials ease increases

Oct. 4--Bobbi Nettles of North Palm Beach just upgraded the avionics equipment in her 4-seat Piper Archer aircraft and had it repainted. The last thing she wants to do is park it in the sun.

Besides the aggravation of leaving her beloved 28-year-old plane exposed to the elements, Nettles, a pilot for 10 years, is worried that she's getting priced out of her flying hobby.

An unexpected increase in fees for renting a hangar at the North County Airport off Beeline Highway has angered Nettles and other owners of small planes. Some say they may be forced to park planes outdoors, where heat and storms can do costly damage to aircraft.

Palm Beach County commissioners reacted to the concerns this week, ordering Airports Department officials to modify proposed sharp increases in hangar rental fees. But a decision to ease the increases hasn't stopped the complaints.

Hangar fees are increasing, in some cases, by about 80 percent over the next five years at the small airport, where there are 180 multi-aircraft hangars and where 450 or more planes are regularly parked.

Traffic at the airport has increased and demand for the hangars has spiked. One reason for the growth, airport officials say, is the development of nearby Scripps Research Institute over the past two years.

With increased demand and a waiting list for hangar space, county officials decided this is the year to impose the first fee hike in a decade. Until now, they say, they have charged far below the appraised value for the rental spaces.

Hangars have been rented at the airport for $165 a month to $1,200 a month depending on their size. The fees bring in about $932,000 a year to help run the airport.

Under new orders from commissioners, the hangar fee increases will raise an additional $94,000 a year and be spread over the next five years. Airport officials had sought a three-year phase-in.

Nettles said the $75-a-month hangar fee increase she faces comes at a bad time, as she also deals with other costs of owning a plane and home in South Florida.

"I'm not the corporate plane owner, the big jet-setter. I'm the recreational flier," Nettles said. "It's my source of fun. It's how I splurge. But it's only getting [less affordable]."

Commissioners Karen Marcus and Bob Kanjian led efforts Tuesday to make the fee increases more gradual. Kanjian, who parks his plane at the Lantana airport, said he is concerned about how the fee increases will affect small-business owners.

The county also runs three other airports that won't be affected by the latest changes. Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach is for commercial aircraft only. The Pahokee airport is in the process of constructing 10 aircraft hangars to replace facilities destroyed by Hurricane Wilma. And the Lantana airport has about 50 hangars, but they are not operated directly by the county.

Terrence M. Sherman, president of Sherman Aircraft Sales in West Palm Beach, rents hangar space at the North County Airport. In a letter to commissioners, he called the rental increases "absurd" and a threat to small businesses.

Laura Beebe, deputy director of the airports business office for the county Department of Airports, said there have been relatively few complaints.

Mark Hollis can be reached at [email protected] or 561-228-5512.

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