This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 'Airport Zoning Act.'

(a) All airport zoning regulations adopted under this chapter shall provide for an administrative agency to have and exercise the following powers:

(1) To hear and decide any special exceptions to the terms of the airport zoning regulations upon which such agency may be required to pass under such regulations.

(2) To authorize in specific cases such variance from the terms of the ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest, where, owing to special conditions, a literal enforcement of the provisions of the ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship, and so that the spirit of the ordinance shall be observed and substantial justice done.

(b) The agency shall not be required to return the original papers acted upon by it, but it shall be sufficient to return certified or sworn copies thereof or of such portions thereof as may be called on by such writ. The return shall concisely set forth such other facts as may be pertinent and material to show the grounds of the decision appealed from and shall be verified.

(c) The agency shall adopt rules in accordance with the provisions of the ordinance or resolution by which it was created. Meetings of the agency shall be held at the call of the chairman and at such other times as the agency may determine. The chairman, or in his absence the acting chairman, may administer oaths and compel the attendance of witnesses. All hearings of the agency shall be public. The agency shall keep minutes of its proceedings, showing the vote of each member upon each question, or, if absent or failing to vote, indicating such fact, and shall keep records of its examinations and other official actions, all of which shall immediately be filed in the office of the agency and shall be a public record.

(a) Any person aggrieved by any decision of an administrative agency made in its administration of airport zoning regulations adopted under this chapter or any governing body of a political subdivision which is of the opinion that a decision of such an administrative agency is an improper application of airport zoning regulations of concern to such governing body or board may appeal to the circuit court of the county where such airport is located.

(b) All appeals taken under this section must be taken within 10 days by filing with the agency from which the appeal is taken a notice of appeal specifying the grounds thereof. The agency from which the appeal is taken shall forthwith transmit to the court all the papers constituting the record upon which the action appealed from was taken.

(c) An appeal shall stay all proceedings in furtherance of the action appealed from, unless the agency from which the appeal is taken certifies to the court, after the notice of appeal has been filed with it, that by reason of the facts stated in the certificate a stay would, in its opinion, cause imminent peril to life or property and file bond to indemnify the owner for damages as may be fixed by the court. In such cases proceedings may be stayed upon the filing by the appellant of a supersedeas bond in an amount to be set by the circuit court of the county in which the subject matter of such decision lies on application by the appellant or the agency from which the appeal is taken.

(d) The court may, in conformity with the provisions of this chapter, reverse, affirm wholly or partly, or modify the order, requirement, decision or determination appealed from and may make such order, requirement, decision or determination as ought to be made and to that end shall have all the powers of the administrative agency from which the appeal is taken.

In case any building or structure is erected, constructed, reconstructed, altered, repaired, converted or maintained, or any building, structure or land is used in violation of this chapter or of any ordinance or other regulation made under authority conferred hereby, the proper local authorities of the municipality, in addition to other remedies, may institute any appropriate action or proceedings to prevent such unlawful erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, repair, conversion, maintenance or use, to restrain, correct or abate such violation, to prevent the occupancy of such building, structure or land or to prevent any illegal act, conduct, business or use in or about such premises.

In any case in which:

(1) It is desired to remove, lower or otherwise terminate a nonconforming structure or use; or

(2) The approach protection necessary cannot, because of constitutional limitations, be provided by airport zoning regulations under this chapter; or

(3) It appears advisable that the necessary approach protection be provided by acquisition of property rights rather than by airport zoning regulations,

the political subdivision within which the property or nonconforming use is located or the political subdivision owning the airport or served by it may acquire, by purchase, grant or condemnation in the manner provided by the law under which political subdivisions are authorized to acquire real property for public purposes, such air right, avigation easement or other estates or interest in the property or nonconforming structure or use in question as may be necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. In the case of the purchase of any property or any easement or estate or interest therein or the acquisition of the same by the power of eminent domain, the political subdivision making such purchase or exercising such power shall, in addition to the damages for the taking, injury or destruction of property, also pay the cost of the removal and relocation of any structure or any public utility which is required to be moved to a new location.

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be construed as authorizing the doing of any act or taking of any property or right therein without first making just compensation to the owner thereof for such damage for the property taken or the interest therein taken and any other damage to such owner's property not taken.

Nothing contained in this chapter shall be held to repeal, modify or change in any way, any regulations, restrictions, boundaries or ordinances existing or in force on September 17, 1953, in any incorporated city or town in this state; and this chapter shall not be held to repeal Sections 11-52-71 through 11-52-84 as the same now exist or may hereafter be amended.

(a) Incorporation. —In the event that a political subdivision has adopted, or hereafter adopts, a comprehensive zoning ordinance regulating, among other things, the height of buildings, any airport zoning regulations applicable to the same area or portion thereof may be incorporated in and made a part of such comprehensive zoning regulations and be administered and enforced in connection therewith.

(b) Conflict. —In the event of conflict between any airport zoning regulations adopted under this chapter and any other regulations applicable to the same area, whether the conflict be with respect to the height of structures of trees, the use of land or any other matter, and whether such regulations were adopted before or after the airport zoning regulations or by some other political subdivision, the more stringent limitation or requirement shall govern and prevail.

As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section:

(1) Airport.

Any area of land or water designed and set aside for the landing and taking-off of aircraft and utilized or to be utilized in the interest of the public for such purposes.

(2) Airport hazard.

Any structure or tree or use of land which obstructs the airspace required for the flight of aircraft in landing or taking-off at any airport or is otherwise hazardous to such landing or taking-off of aircraft.

(3) Airport hazard area.

Any area of land or water upon which an airport hazard might be established if not prevented as provided in this chapter.

(4) Political subdivision.

Any municipality, city, town, village or county.

(5) Person.

Any individual, firm, copartnership, corporation, company, association, joint stock association or body politic and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee or other similar representative thereof.

(6) Structure.

Any object constructed or installed by man including, but without limitation, buildings, towers, smokestacks and overhead transmission lines.

(7) Tree.

Any object of natural growth.

It is hereby found that an airport hazard endangers the lives and property of users of the airport and of occupants of land in its vicinity and also, if of the obstruction type, in effect reduces the size of the area available for the landing, taking-off and maneuvering of aircraft, thus tending to destroy or impair the utility of the airport and the public investment therein. Accordingly, it is hereby declared:

(1) That the creation or establishment of an airport hazard is an injury to the community served by the airport in question;

(2) That it is therefore necessary in the interest of the public health, public safety and general welfare that the creation or establishment of airport hazards be prevented; and

(3) That this should be accomplished, to the extent legally possible, by exercise of the police power.

It is further declared that both the prevention of the creation or establishment of airport hazards and the elimination, removal, alteration, mitigation or marking and lighting of existing airport hazards are public purposes for which political subdivisions may raise and expend public funds and acquire land or property interests therein.

(a) Counties. —In order to prevent the creation or establishment of airport hazards, any county having an airport hazard area within its zoning jurisdiction, as hereinafter defined, may adopt, administer and enforce, under the police power and in the manner and upon the conditions hereinafter prescribed, airport zoning regulations for such airport hazard area, which regulations may divide such area into zones, and within such zones specify the land uses permitted and regulate and restrict the height to which structures and trees may be erected or allowed to grow.

The zoning jurisdiction of the county is hereby declared to be all unincorporated areas in the county, except within the police jurisdiction of any municipality and the area within two miles of an airport owned or operated by a municipality when said municipality exercises or declares its intention to exercise zoning control over these areas; provided, that when by local acts the jurisdiction of zoning regulations is limited to the corporate limits of a city, this chapter shall not confer any further territorial jurisdiction on such city or its planning board or boards.

(b) Municipalities. —Any municipality having an airport hazard area within its zoning jurisdiction, as herein defined, is hereby granted the same powers contained in subsection (a) of this section.

The zoning jurisdiction of any municipality, zoning under the authority of this chapter, may include, in addition to the corporate area of said municipality, the area within the police jurisdiction of such municipality and the area lying within two miles of the boundary of any airport owned or operated by said municipality; except, that where a local act limits the territorial jurisdiction of a city planning board to the corporate limits of a city, this chapter limits zoning jurisdiction to such corporate limits.

The provisions of this section shall not apply to counties having a population of not less than 54,500 nor more than 56,000 according to the most recent federal decennial census.

Prior to the initial zoning of any airport hazard area under this chapter, the political subdivision which is to adopt the regulations shall be authorized to appoint an airport zoning commission consisting of five members, each to be appointed for a term of three years, or may designate any existing planning commission to recommend the boundaries of the various zones to be established and the regulations to be adopted therefor. Such commission shall make a preliminary report and hold public hearings thereon before submitting its final report, and the legislative body of the political subdivision shall not hold its public hearings or take other action until it has received the final report of such commission.

The legislative body of such political subdivision in question shall provide for the manner in which such regulations and restrictions and the boundaries of such districts shall be determined, established and enforced, and from time to time amended, supplemented or changed, and may adopt such ordinances or regulations as may be necessary to carry into effect and make effective the provisions of this chapter. No airport zoning regulations shall be adopted under the authority of this chapter unless and until the proposed ordinance has been published at least once a week for two consecutive weeks in advance of its passage in a newspaper of general circulation within the political subdivision, or, if there is no newspaper, then by posting the same in four conspicuous places within the political subdivision, together with a notice stating the time and place that the ordinance is to be considered by the legislative authorities, and stating further that at such time and place all persons who desire shall have an opportunity of being heard in opposition to or in favor of such regulations. No such regulations shall become effective until after a public hearing in relation thereto, at which parties in interest and citizens shall have an opportunity to be heard. Such regulations, restrictions and boundaries and ordinances passed under the authority of this chapter, may from time to time be amended, supplemented, changed, modified or repealed. The preceding provisions of this section relative to public hearings and official notices shall apply equally to all changes and amendments.

(a) Reasonableness. —All airport zoning regulations adopted under this chapter shall be reasonable, and none shall impose any requirement or restriction which is not reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter. In determining what regulations it may adopt, the political subdivision shall consider, among other things, the character of the flying operations expected to be conducted at the airport, the nature of the terrain within the airport hazard area, the character of the neighborhood and the uses to which the property to be zoned is put and adaptable.

(b) Nonconforming uses. —No airport zoning regulations adopted under this chapter shall require the removal, lowering or other change or alteration of any structure or tree not conforming to the regulations when adopted or amended or otherwise interfere with the continuance of any nonconforming use, except as provided in subsection (c) of Section 4-6-8.

(a) Permits. —Any airport zoning regulations adopted under this chapter may require that a permit be obtained before any new structure or use may be constructed or established and before any existing use or structure may be substantially changed or substantially altered. All such regulations may provide rules under which nonconforming uses shall be discontinued and removed in case of being abandoned, destroyed, deteriorated or decayed. In any event, however, all such regulations shall provide that before any nonconforming structure or tree may be replaced, substantially altered, rebuilt, allowed to grow higher or replanted, a permit must be secured from the administrative agency authorized to administer and enforce the regulations, authorizing such replacement or change; but no such permit shall be required to make maintenance repairs to or to replace parts of existing structures which do not enlarge or increase the height of an existing structure. No permit shall be granted that would allow the establishment or creation of an airport hazard or permit a nonconforming structure or tree or nonconforming use to be made or become higher or become a greater hazard to air navigation than it was when the applicable regulation was adopted or than it is when the application for a permit is made.

(b) Variances. —Any person desiring to erect any structure, or increase the height of any structure, or permit the growth of any tree, or otherwise use his property in violation of airport zoning regulations adopted under this chapter, may apply to the administrative agency for a variance from the zoning regulations in question. Such variances shall be allowed where a literal application or enforcement of the regulations would result in practical difficulty or unnecessary hardship and the relief granted would not be contrary to the public interest but do substantial justice and be in accordance with the spirit of the regulations and this chapter; provided, that any variance may be allowed subject to any reasonable conditions that the board of adjustment may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter.

(c) Hazard marking and lighting. —In granting any permit or variance under this section, the administrative agency may, if it deems such action advisable to effectuate the purposes of this chapter and reasonable in the circumstances, so condition such permit or variance as to require the owner of the structure or tree in question to permit the political subdivision, at its own expense, to install, operate and maintain thereon such markers and lights as may be necessary to indicate to flyers the presence of an airport hazard, upon payment to the owner for all damage resulting to his property by such maintenance.

All airport zoning regulations adopted under this chapter shall provide for the administration and enforcement of such regulations by an administrative agency which may be an agency created by such regulations or any official or other existing agency of the political subdivision adopting the regulations. The duties of any administrative agency designated pursuant to this chapter shall include that of hearing and deciding all permits under this chapter.