Roughly 80 people—about one-thirteenth of the population of Camas County—turned out for a planning and zoning meeting Tuesday night to debate the potential risks and rewards of allowing a private airport to be built east of Fairfield.
No decisions were made at the six-hour public hearing, which was moved to the school gym to accommodate the crowd and lasted into the early hours of Wednesday morning.
Three proposals were up for debate: a change to the county’s comprehensive plan future land use map, the rezoning of about 300 acres of the 1,600-acre site, and a conditional-use permit to pave the way for Ix-Nay Investment Trust to build the airport itself. But public testimony centered less on zoning technicalities and more on how the proposed Soldier Field Airport could shape the future of Camas County.
Residents who testified at the meeting agreed that economic and population growth is needed if the Camas community and its small 150-student school are to survive and thrive in the decades ahead. Deborah McLam, a third-generation farmer on the Camas prairie, recalled graduating with a class of about 20 students—a cohort twice the size of the 2020 graduating class—when she attended Camas County High School. At that time, she said, Fairfield had a doctor, a pharmacy and two grocery stores surrounding a robust Main Street.
“I understand change and I believe we need it,” McLam said, echoing similar sentiments from other county residents. “We used to have a lot more people that lived here and worked here, and that’s what we need back.”
The more contentious question: whether a new private airport, constructed about 10 miles east of Fairfield, would contribute to or detract from that growth.
Speakers in support of Soldier Field Airport—including McLam and Twin Falls-based attorney Gary Slette, who represented applicant Ix-Nay Investment Trust—argued that the airport would bring new visitors to the area to support local businesses, expand the county’s tax base, and provide jobs that don’t require a commute to the Wood River Valley.
“We have all sorts of opportunities here in Fairfield that we haven’t developed because we don’t have an airport here in Fairfield,” Camas resident Lee Barron said. “For the life of me, I don’t see why a man can’t build an airport on his own ground if he wants to.”
Opponents countered that passengers flying into the airport were more likely to spend their money in Sun Valley than in Camas County and said they worried that the noise and aesthetics of an airport would make the county’s east side a less desirable place to live, bringing down home values and discouraging people from moving to the part of the county most convenient for Wood River Valley commuters.
“Living in a rural setting in close proximity to the Wood River Valley is attractive to newcomers who wish to settle in this area,” said Donna Koch, a rancher and Camas County resident. “What a travesty it would be to take this selling point away and forever change the character of this area.”
The roughly 300 acres up for rezoning are currently zoned to allow for the development of 60 five-acre residential properties, which some opponents of the airport suggested would be a better use of the land. The owner of the site has “no interest” in developing those homes, Slette said.
“Just because it’s zoned that way doesn’t mean it would be developed that way,” Slette said.
While the individuals who make up Ix-Nay Investment Trust have not been publicly identified, Bruce Willis is widely rumored to be behind the project. Willis used Ix-Nay Investment Trust to purchase several properties in Hailey in the 1990s, according to past reports by the Idaho Mountain Express.
In 2004, Willis offered to donate land in Camas County near U.S. Highway 20 as a potential relocation site for Friedman Memorial Airport. The site was ultimately not chosen, however, and the relocation effort stalled. In 2016, Willis began construction on a dirt landing strip in the area—sparking backlash from some Camas residents—but work on the airstrip was halted after officials found that the site was on land zoned for agricultural use.
The following year, Camas County commissioners passed an ordinance allowing private airports registered with the Federal Aviation Administration to be built without a county permit on agricultural land that falls under the AG-80 zoning category. The county’s zoning ordinance on airports was changed again in 2019, making it necessary to obtain a conditional-use permit to build a private airport on AG-80 land.
A portion of the proposed Soldier Field Airport site is currently zoned under the AG-5 category, which doesn’t allow airports as a primary or conditional use of the land—hence the request to rezone 300 acres from AG-5 to AG-80.
If approved, the proposed Soldier Field Airport would accommodate a range of airplanes, according to the applicants, from small single-engine planes to private-use Boeing 737 aircrafts. Planes the size of the Boeing 737 are not allowed to land at the Friedman Memorial Airport in Hailey due to weight limitations.
“None of the people in this room are going to get on an airplane at that airport unless you happen to be invited by some really wealthy guy,” Camas County resident Bill Besst said at the public hearing, arguing against the conditional-use permit application. “Because that’s what we have here, a bunch of really wealthy guys. They can’t land their big planes over in Hailey, so they have to bring their big planes here.
“It looks to me that this just makes us Blaine County’s doormat,” Besst continued. “The [proposed] airport is surrounded by people who are not rich, and we can’t take on these people.”
The at-times-heated meeting concluded with the filing of a police report: Slette told the Mountain Express on Wednesday that after the meeting he discovered one of the tires on his car had been slashed. The incident is under investigation, the Camas County Sheriff’s Office said.
The county planning and zoning board will decide at its upcoming regular meeting on Oct. 6 whether to approve the proposals that would allow Ix-Nay Investment Trust to move forward. If the changes are approved, the matter will go to the Camas County commissioners for consideration.
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(33) comments
The entertainment value of the constipated angry misanthropes who comment on this site is worse by the week.
hell hath no fury like a ketchum woman mildly inconvenienced
I have a hard time understanding what the purpose of a private airport that is 50 miles from Sun Valley when the same people can fly into Hailey and be 13 miles from Ketchum. How can these people justify the cost of building the airport when they would probably only use it a few times a year? The elitists might give it a shot but when they see the inconvenience of the distance and time it takes to get to this remote airport they will say forget and continue to fly into Hailey.
Maybe, look down the road. Camus has, what the Wood River had 50 years ago. Potential. Barrels of "cheap" open land. Non-restrictive zoning. A willing labor force. A developable resort with better powder and vast terrain. Canyons for McMansions....a world class jetport at your door. Sun Valley, in a youthful investors eye, might seem like last nights pizza in comparison?
Might as well ruin the Camas Prairie like they ruined the Wood river valley. Say goodby to the beautiful wild places we once knew.
Correct and we do not want to become what Blaine has become. Why would we? It’s quiet, laid back we all know our neighborhood and up until now we all got along. But thanks to an out of state developer that may all change.
WE? Your Liberal instincts are apparent when you join them on this issue. YOU may have it made in the shade; many Camas property owners, workers and residents, however, do not have it made... and like you, WE deserve options other than agricultural loss and drudgery for a brighter future. Why do we have District 26 political representatives if they have no business representing constituents in District 26 issues?
tony robbins can get a better deal to keep his helicopter there and fly to his place by the overcrowded hot springs near his home so he doesn't have to even SEE the muckitty muck
Maybe they have longer term interests in the land that’s our current airport?
This whole project is those wealthy Stanley boran brothers who keep harassing the locals with helicopters, or its Bruce Willis or the wealthy Republicans elites want this airport put in so trump jr and Jeffery Epstein can visit more often , the local should not have to pay for the airport upgrades for fire and medical services if this airport goes in , locals cant deal with toxic de icer chemicals which will leach into the ground water just like Hailey airport , the locals will be left with toxic drinking water so bad no one can survive without hauling clean water in, the local cattle farmers will love it when the water is to polluted the cows can’t drink the water because it’s poisoned from toxic chemical de icing agents in the ground water ,
Local residents went to have their tires slashed by the anarchist locals? These locals think breaking the laws is their duty to destroy private property of anyone who does not live in the County? “Visit Fairfield for the gas have your tires slashed by the Republicans”? Great motto , people keep your business out of camas and Fairfield the Republicans rednecks will slash your tires ...
You are an idiot for a comment like this.
pleasewearamuzzle is unhinged.
It's not big enough !! If California passes the tax on everyone worth more than 30 million dollars we are going to be swamped with these people. It is just not big enough. Get used to saying "would you like some mustard with that" ???
My 1st question about a new private airport at Camas...is Why??? It is not small undertaking to build an airport in the middle of nowhere capable of handling large jet aircraft. You can just lay down a strip on concrete and call it good. There has to be volumes of legal issues to get a massive project like this approved by the FFA. The cost has to run in the hundreds of millions of dollars. You would need all the safely measures in place, lighting (at night the locals will love that), fencing, and snow removal to name a few. I can't imagine people who own these planes aren't going want a jet worth say $50 or $60 million parked out in the boonies without tons of security. You will an FBO with the ability to offer fuel, maintenance and ground transportation. Heaven forbid if some varmint hunter out shooting rock chucks just happens to miss his mark and have a bullet poke a hole in one of the jets parked there.
I highly doubt Bruce is the main person behind this project as he has divested himself from most of his property holdings in Blaine County. If I were to make an educated guess, one of the main proponents behind this project is a wealthy individual who is purported to be the largest landholder in Camas County and does happen to own a jet. Lastly, I am sure anyone who has driven Highway 20 through that section during certain times of the year can attest to the low layer of fog that hangs in that area.
The old estimate to replace Friedman was += $350 million.....spare change to the wealthy.
If it is a private airport, not certified for airline use, that does accept federal grant money, my understanding is that there is very little FAA involvement or rules.
That was a concern brought up at the meeting by a resident it related to possible human trafficking to satisfy the "elite tastes" of those flying in and out of there. Will the Lolitta Express be making landings there away from the prying eyes of Friedmann's security staff?
Look up the origins and history of the Moonstone Ranch. Why do you think it was established in its current location?
Correct Bill. The FAA only approves airspace and NOTHING ELSE concerning a private airport.
Joe Clark did it in the Pahsimeroi ! No one cared enough to do anything !
737`s?
7507 ft in length. https://www.airnav.com/airport/0ID2
Depending upon the 737 model, and then takeoff weight (and the elevation there!), seems it's suitable for some 737s.
http://aircyber.weebly.com/aircraft-runway-requirements.html
Your comment is spot on Mr. fishhog of course this will be a blight on the east side of the prairie and the people living here will have to deal with this. The people driving this are not the millionaires it is the billionaires and they always have their way. Bad Luck for us!!
So we need another airport in the middle of the fog and the wind . And , Friedman is not closing ever ?
This article fails to state that at least half of the attendees were from out of county and oddly enough Blaine Co. residents felt the need to come here and give their input for the proposed airport. The "doormat" quote was certainly appropriate. As for a tire being slashed, one has to ask....who benefits? Seems Ix-Nay is the only entity that would benefit from such an action by turning local sentiment against the opposition, who are their neighbors, and towards Ix-Nay. Most of the attendees who were for this jetport development live on the other side of the county or in town 10 miles away, easy for them to approve when it will not impact their quality of life or their property values. Ix-Nay has yet to divulge who will pay for the necessary upgrade to county fire & ambulance services necessary to respond to an operation incident. They have failed to properly address the sensitive wildlife migration corridor that passes through that area, sage grouse habitat, run off issues into Camas & Willow Creek. There are still too many questions and not enough answers.
People foolishly believe the project will bring jobs and growth when almost every flights passengers will head straight to SV. Blaine Co doormat is a good label.
Tires slashed. Camas class.
Definitely not what you want and all the community is appalled. Class has nothing to do with it.
I would like to hear the State of Idaho (Stennett/Parker) weigh in.
My favorite IME front page photo is of Some-Old-Cowboy from The Great State of Idaho standing by the edge of the Mighty Big Wood River explaining why he was having Bruce Willis repair the damage he had done to Our River.
Stennett doesn't want to be bothered by this.
State representatives have nothing to do with this. It’s a local land use decision.
Welcome to the discussion.
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