The Carroll Airport Commission (Operating the Arthur N. Neu Municipal Airport)
v.
Loren W. Danner and Pan Danner
Defendants appealed from a district court ruling which granted plaintiff’s petition for abatement of a nuisance, finding a grain leg built by defendants on their property near plaintiff’s airport violated local and state zoning ordinances. Defendants contended the district court erred because they had obtained a “no hazard” letter from the Federal Aviation Administration, which preempted the court’s enforcement of state zoning law. The court of appeals affirmed the district court ruling. Defendants seek further review.
Resister
The Carroll Airport Commission (Operating the Arthur N. Neu Municipal Airport)
Applicant
Loren W. Danner and Pan Danner
Attorney for the Resister
Gina C. Badding
Attorney for the Applicant
Steven D. Hamilton
Supreme Court
Oral Argument Schedule
15-15-5
Jan 23, 2019 1:30 PM
Briefs
Supreme Court Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Court of Appeals
Court of Appeals Opinion
Opinion Number:
Date Published:
Summary
Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Carroll County, William C. Ostlund, Judge. AFFIRMED. Considered by Potterfield, P.J., and Bower and McDonald, JJ. Opinion by Potterfield, P.J. (9 pages)
The defendants, Loren and Pan Danner, appeal from the district court ruling granting the Carroll Airport Commission’s petition for abatement of a nuisance. The court determined the grain leg built by the Danners on their property, near the Arthur E. Neu Airport, was a nuisance, as it violated local and state zoning ordinances and statutes and ordered the Danners to “abate said nuisance by either removing the grain leg structure or modifying the height of the grain leg structure to be in compliance with the regulations and law concerning the Airport’s protect[ed] airspace.” On appeal, the Danners contend the “no hazard” letter they obtained from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in July 2013 preempted the district court’s enforcement of state law. OPINION HOLDS: Because the application of local and state provisions defining the Danners’ grain leg as an airport hazard and a nuisance is not preempted by the FAA’s determination that the grain leg is not a hazard, we affirm the district court’s order requiring the Danners to abate the nuisance.