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<br />Development at a new airport site could <br />have some advantages. A new airport <br />site could be chosen which could more <br />centrally locate the airport to the <br />airport service area. However, this will <br />likely require moving it further from <br />the downtown area and Interstate 35 <br />which reduces the existing convenience <br />of the airport, especially for corporate <br />air travelers. <br /> <br />The development of a new airport is <br />generally considered when an airport <br />reaches capacity and it is cost <br />prohibitive to expand the existing <br />facility. San Marcos Municipal Airport <br />encompasses over 1,000 acres, with <br />much presently undeveloped. The <br />facility needs evaluation did not <br />indicate that the airport would be <br />severely congested. Therefore, at the <br />present time the capacity of the existing <br />airport has not been reached. It is <br />reasonable to assume that at some point <br />in the future, the existing airport site <br />could be maximized. <br /> <br />Constructing an entirely new airport <br />can be a very difficult and costly action, <br />requiring a tremendous financial <br />commitment of funds for land <br />acquisition, site preparation and the <br />construction of new airport facilities. <br />The closing of the existing airport site <br />would mean a loss of the substantial <br />public and private investments in the <br />existing facility which may only be <br />partially recovered through the sale of <br />the existing airport. This could put a <br />significant burden on existing tenants <br />of the airport to replace existing <br />facilities. From social, political and <br />environmental standpoints, extensive <br />justification would be needed to follow <br />this alternative. A detailed and lengthy <br />study process, beyond the scope of this <br /> <br />Master Plan, would need to be <br />completed to prepare sufficient <br />justification of the need for a new <br />facility, its benefits, and its costs. <br /> <br />Extensive environmental review on <br />both the state and federal levels would <br />be necessary as well. This would <br />definitely involve the development of an <br />Environmental Assessment, and quite <br />possibly an Environmental Impact <br />Statement (EIS), before final site <br />approval could be given. <br /> <br />The public sentiment towards new <br />airports in the last few years has been <br />very negative, primarily because a new <br />airport normally requires the <br />acquisition of several large parcels of <br />privately-owned land. Furthermore, the <br />development of a new airport similar to <br />San Marcos Municipal Airport would <br />likely take 10 to 15 years to become a <br />reality and cost over $100 million. The <br />potential exists for significant <br />environmental impacts associated with <br />disturbing a large land area when <br />developing a new airport site. <br /> <br />With continued improvement, San <br />Marcos Municipal Airport should be <br />capable of accommodating the project <br />aviation demands of the San Marcos <br />area through the planning period ofthis <br />Master Plan. The airport should be <br />developed in response to those <br />demands. The airport has the potential <br />to continue to develop as a quality <br />airport that could greatly enhance the <br />economic development of the <br />community. Therefore, it is necessary to <br />consider a series of development <br />alternatives for the airport to satisfY <br />projected demands and to improve the <br />ability of the airport to foster additional <br /> <br />4-4 <br />