Homeowners, RC Flying Club struggling to coexist

Parks Commission to hear options for potential resolutions

Jason Schroeder spends part of a day off work in March operating his radio-controlled helicopters. Some area residents have become unhappy with the noise of the planes at Joseph Miller RC Park on Rainbow Drive and have hired an attorney to prohibit flying at the city park located near Binder Lake.
Jason Schroeder spends part of a day off work in March operating his radio-controlled helicopters. Some area residents have become unhappy with the noise of the planes at Joseph Miller RC Park on Rainbow Drive and have hired an attorney to prohibit flying at the city park located near Binder Lake.

At Binder Park, right off Rainbow Lane, is a small section of the Joseph C. Miller Park where flying enthusiasts go to use radio controlled model airplanes and helicopters.

But just past the tree line is a subdivision where homeowners have grown tired of what they believe are disturbances to their homes.

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The two groups - homeowners in the Heritage Hollow subdivision and members of the Jefferson City RC Club - have struggled to co-exist, and in the past few months, the issue may have come to a head.

Last week, both groups, represented by attorneys, attended the Jefferson City Parks and Recreation Commission meeting, where each side was given four minutes to present their case.

"In May, 45 of (Heritage Hollow) homeowners signed a petition requesting the Parks (Commission) close down or relocate the remote control flying park," said Jay Barnes, attorney representing the homeowners of Heritage Hollow.

But that's not all that happened in May.

According to a Cole County Sheriff's report from May 7, one of those homeowners, John A. Tandy, was arrested for unlawful use of a weapon after a call came in about "a person shooting a gun at an airplane with the shot hitting the caller's truck and a building at the Jefferson City Radio Control Club."

The report states Tandy said he fired three shots from a shotgun after remote control planes were flying over his house, noting "in the past, three different planes have crashed into the tree line separating his yard from the Radio Control Flying Park." The report states Tandy said he went to talk to someone at the field about flying over his house before the incident with the shotgun occurred.

Tandy allegedly fired at the truck, the building and another building on Rainbow Drive that, at the time, was serving as the temporary residence for Todd Spalding, director of Parks, Recreation and Forestry. (Spalding was staying in park property after accepting the position in Jefferson City. Since the May incident, Spalding has moved into his own home in Jefferson City.)

The report states one of the pilots at the field, Rick Allain, who had spoken with Tandy just before the incident, thought six or seven shots had been fired before looking "south in an opening in the tree line that separates the park and the subdivision and observed a gentleman in a white T-shirt who was holding up a shotgun and 'fist pumping' it into the air."

Neither Barnes nor Tony DeWitt, the attorney for the RC Club, went into detail about the May incident, both stating they'd prefer to leave the past incidents in the past and look at what can be done moving forward. But for the homeowners, there really isn't much room to negotiate.

"Even if we reach an agreement with the club so long as the field is out there and open to the public in any form or fashion, then this problem will persist," Barnes said. "The homeowners don't view anything short of relocation as a solution."

DeWitt said the flying field has been there for 35 years, and in the past two decades, homes have encroached on the edge of the field. And while the subdivision is in a "no-fly zone," DeWitt said for years before the homes were built pilots flew their RC air crafts over the area.

Nowadays, he said, those who violate the no-fly zone likely are not members of the RC Club and don't have the proper permits to even be flying at the field.

"We don't want to be a pest, we don't want to be a nuisance," DeWitt said. "We have a few disagreements with the homeowners, but by and large, we agree that it would be wonderful to have a place where we could operate in a manner that was safe for everybody and that was fun for our folks."

Dr. Jim Crago, with the RC Club, said the club's membership has declined to about 25 as the subdivision developed, noting the club actually stopped encouraging people to join because of the nearby housing. Crago said another issue with flying over the nearby homes is simply depth perception.

"It's not just cut and dry," Crago said. "We try out very hardest not to violate (the no-fly zone), but it happens."

Barnes listed several reasons to relocate the park: the first being trespassing over the airspace over the homes, the second being noise from the air crafts, but the third was overall safety for all involved. He cited the Academy of Model Aeronautics, or AMA, National Model Aircraft Safety Code, which states "all pilots shall avoid flying directly over unprotected people, vessels, vehicles or structures, and shall avoid endangerment of life and property of others."

"The preferred flying area also goes over the Frisbee golf course and also goes over five softball fields," Barnes said. "The first safety rule of the AMA is you do not fly directly over unprotected people.

"Given the safety issue, if nothing is done, the city has a serious liability on its hands should something happen with one of these airplanes violating the very first safety rule of the AMA."

The Parks Commission made no decision last week but did approve a motion to have staff meet with representatives of both the homeowners and the RC Club to come up with a list of possible solutions for the commission to consider.

"It's just the beginning of the discussion," said Commission President Brad Bates.