A homebuilder hopes to develop land near Eatonville's airfield differently than plans of another developer called for several years ago. Dan Simon told the Town Council Sept. 9 that he wants to buy the platted property known as Aviator Heights and build single-family homes. His plans are different than what the town approved for the land in 2006, when then-developer Jerry Nybo proposed an airpark community with homes on half-acre lots, a hangar on each lot and the main street as a wide taxiway that aircraft going to and from the landing strip would share with automobiles. According to town officials, some infrastructure for the project was built, but the land adjacent to Swanson Field remains mostly undeveloped. Simon said he'll go forward with his idea for the approximately 13 acres to have homes selling for $265,000 or less if the town changes the site's plat regulations to allow his development. Councilman Gordon Bowman said the town should accommodate Simon so the land doesn't continue to "just sit there.GÇ¥ But Councilman Brenden Pierce said that altering the earlier decision by the council would be an abuse of council authority on land-use matters. Mayor Ray Harper sided with Bowman, noting that Simon is offering "a chance at some economic developmentGÇ¥ in the town. "We don't have a lot of builders banging on our doors.GÇ¥ Smith said he doubts there is enough demand for the airpark community envisioned by Nybo. He said the number of private pilots who might at one time have been interested in having a home and an adjoining hangar for their airplane is dwindling because of economic factors or changing lifestyles. Few if any potential buyers of the homes he wants to build "can afford a home and an airplane,GÇ¥ he said. Simon also said it's "hard to visualizeGÇ¥ aircraft taxiing down a road that also would be used by cars. Pierce said residents of an airpark development would be knowledgeable about planes and comfortable yielding to them. Nybo proposed to town officials in 2011 that his project plans be changed to allow multi-family housing for retirees or others at least 55 years old. He said then that market conditions were making his new proposal more viable than his original plans for single-family homes.
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