Meade County Commission approves air park initial development proposal north of Rapid City

RAPID CITY, S.D. (KOTA) - Tuesday, the Meade County Commission approved the proposal for the initial development of an air park about eight miles north of Rapid City.

The project, proposed by Infinity Properties LLC, is a 51-lot housing development with hangars surrounding a private airstrip, including a 5,000-foot runway.

During the meeting, several Meade County residents who live near the area where the air park will be constructed expressed their concerns about the project.

“Our concern as residents in that area is that it’s going to create a whole bunch of noise,” said Meade County resident Todd Battest. “There’s a potential of aircraft crashing into one of our homes.”

Battest said the project would degrade the ability to live the kind of life that many of the residents and himself have built in the area.

The commission also approved vacating a section line which means it will be removed to accommodate the airfield.

In addition, they also approved a 66-foot public access easement for where the original section line is.

“Meade County is probably the second-fastest growing county in the state of South Dakota,” said the chairman of the Meade County Commission, Gary Deering. “So, therefore, we’re seeing a lot of this. A lot of things are coming up that we didn’t expect 10 to 15 years ago.”

Deering says the commission takes sections lines seriously as they’re important in accessing someone’s various properties.

During the meeting, the developer of the project, Craig Baumiller, said the 66-foot public access easement will protect drainage ditches and gives him the ability to ensure the project is properly designed.

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