This report discusses airport compatible land use requirements, the legal issues related to achieving airport compatible land use, and legal issues particular to eliminating hazardous obstructions to airspace. The report concludes by reviewing the major legal issues of concern in achieving airport-compatible land use. While general legal principles relevant to airport land use are well established, they are often applied on a case by case basis, particularly in the context of regulatory takings and inverse condemnation. This ad hoc analysis introduces, if not an element of unpredictability, at least some variation in the law by jurisdiction. The need for greater predictability highlights the significance of including airport zoning as part of comprehensive land use planning. This report should be helpful to airport administrators, attorneys, board members, financial officers, community members in the vicinity of airports, realtors, and city and county zoning officials.

ACRP Report 38: Understanding Airspace, Objects, and Their Effects on Airports provides a comprehensive description of the regulations, standards, evaluation criteria, and processes designed to protect the airspace surrounding airports. Aviation practitioners, local planning and zoning agencies, and developers all have a need to understand and apply the appropriate airspace design and evaluation criteria to ensure a safe operating environment for aircraft, to maintain airport operational flexibility and reliability, without unduly restricting desirable building development and attendant economic growth in the surrounding community.