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Standards Applying in All Safety Zones

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As noted in Table 8B and Table 8C several other uses posing risks to aircraft in flight also shall be prohibited within all safety zones. These involve uses which would cause confusing or blinding lights and reflections to be directed to aircraft in flight, uses causing smoke, water vapor, or gatherings of birds, or those causing electrical interference. Rather than straight-forward land use restrictions, these may be considered performance standards. Only a few kinds of land uses have inherent attributes that would make them necessarily violate these standards. (Landfills and power generating plants are examples.) Many uses which might cause conflicts can be designed to avoid these problems. For example, businesses could design their lighting systems to avoid confusion with airfield lighting.

The following uses shall be prohibited in all airport safety zones:

  1. Any use which would direct a steady light or flashing light of red, white, green, or amber colors associated with airport operations toward an aircraft engaged in an initial straight climb following takeoff or toward an aircraft engaged in a straight final approach toward a landing at an airport, other than an FAA approved navigational signal light or visual approach slope indicator.
  2. Any use which would cause sunlight to be reflected toward an aircraft engaged in an initial straight climb following takeoff or toward an aircraft engaged in a straight final approach toward a landing at an airport.
  3. Any use which would generate smoke or water vapor or which would attract large concentrations of birds, or which may otherwise affect safe air navigation within the area. Large water features, including, but not limited to, wetlands, and water storage ponds that could attract birds are generally prohibited, provided, however, that ponds which are designed so as not to attract birds (e.g., ponds devoid of shrubs and trees or similar habitat for birds) would be permitted. Food and fiber processing activities involving outdoor storage of food products and seeds which would attract birds would be prohibited. This prohibition would not apply to the cultivation of land, including orchards, vineyards, horticulture, or crop raising.
  4. Any use which would generate electrical interference that may be detrimental to the operation of aircraft and/or aircraft instrumentation.