Public Information

Territory in the Vicinity of a Public Airport

A.R.S. § 28-8486, enacted by the 1999 Legislature, states:

The state real estate department shall have and make available to the public on request a map showing the exterior boundaries of each territory in the vicinity of a public airport. The map shall clearly set forth the boundaries on a street map. The state real estate department shall work closely with each public airport and affected local government as necessary to create a map that is visually useful in determining whether property is located in or outside of a territory in the vicinity of a public airport.

Each public airport shall record the map prepared pursuant to subsection A in the office of the county recorder in each county that contains property in a territory in the vicinity of the public airport. The recorded map shall be sufficient to notify owners and potential purchasers of property that the property is located in or outside of a territory in the vicinity of a public airport.

For the purposes of this section:
1. "Public airport" means an airport that is owned by a political subdivision of this state or that is otherwise open to the public.
2. "Territory in the vicinity of a public airport" means property that is within the traffic pattern airspace as defined by the federal aviation administration and includes property that experiences a day-night average sound level as follows:
  1. In counties with a population of more than five hundred thousand persons, sixty decibels or higher at airports where such an average sound level has been identified in either the airport master plan for the twenty year planning period or in a noise study prepared in accordance with airport noise compatibility planning, 14 Code of Federal Regulations part 150.
  2. In counties with a population of five hundred thousand persons or less, sixty-five decibels or higher at airports where such an average sound level has been identified in the airport master plan for the twenty year planning period.

A "public airport" is defined as an airport owned by a political subdivision of this state or that is otherwise open to the public."

Two real estate statutes were also amended.

A.R.S. § 32-2181(A)(23) was amended to require a subdivider, before subdivided land is offered for sale or lease, to notify the Commissioner in writing as to whether all or any portion of the subdivision is located in territory in the vicinity of a public airport as defined above.

A.R.S. § 32-2195(B)(14) was amended to include the same requirement for unsubdivided land.

In an attempt to comply with this statute, the Department has contacted 54 Arizona airports which fall within the statute's definition. Some of these airports have supplied the Department with aircraft noise contours data; some have supplied what they interpret as traffic pattern airspace.

Images of the maps furnished by these airports are available for viewing here.