Foothills County recently took over management of the High River Regional Airport and has given the facility a new name to reflect the change.
The airport had been jointly operated between the County and the Town of High River.
Foothills County Reeve Delilah Miller said it made sense to take full ownership.
“It’s just some housekeeping between the two municipalities,” Miller said. “There was no money that exchanged hands for the airport.”
The airport’s name recently changed from the High River Regional Airport to Foothills Regional Airport.
“We applied for the name change, and that’s just gone through within the last couple of weeks,” Miller said.
She said the County plans to update signage at the airport to reflect the new name and hopes to hold a ribbon cutting or celebration in the future.
The airport's website reflects the change with a new logo and address at foothillsregionalairport.ca.
Public hearing to discuss land use around the airport
A public hearing is scheduled to discuss land use near the Foothills Regional Airport following a lengthy engagement period.
Changes proposed in the Regional Airport Land Use Project include re-designating land around the airport and adopting an airport protection overlay.
County staff said the changes would better support actual land uses while still allowing for the safe operation of the airport.
The County said the current designation, Direct Control #5 (DC5), protects the airport but limits land uses and creates confusion.
The Airport Protection Overlay District would only address uses that could impact the airport directly and would include height limitations and limit uses that may create hazards such as dust, glare or electronic interference, the County said.
Proposed changes would also amend current land use designations within the airport itself.
An open house was held for the project in November, and County staff said there were no concerns or major opposition raised.
The public hearing is on March 6 at 1:30 p.m. at the County’s administration building in High River.
