Airport Land Use Amendments

15
72-10-102
72-10-401
72-10-403
0
Airport Land Use Amendments
2026 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: David Shallenberger
Senate Sponsor: Brady Brammer
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill amends definitions related to airports to include flight parks.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
amends definitions of "airport," and "airport influence area," and defines "flight park" to
ensure that a flight park receives similar treatment as other airports with regard to airport
influence areas, airport overlay zones, and avigation easements; and
makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
None
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
72-10-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, Chapters 423, 515
72-10-401
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 17
72-10-403
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2025, First Special Session, Chapter 15
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section
72-10-102
is amended to read:
72-10-102
. Definitions.
As used in this chapter:
(1)
"Acrobatics" means the intentional maneuvers of an aircraft not necessary to air
navigation.
(2)
(a)
"Advanced air mobility system" means a system that transports individuals and
property using piloted and unpiloted aircraft, including electric aircraft and electric
vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, in controlled or uncontrolled airspace.
(b)
"Advanced air mobility system" includes each component of a system described in
Subsection
(2)(a)
, including:
(i)
the aircraft, including payload;
(ii)
communications equipment;
(iii)
navigation equipment;
(iv)
controllers;
(v)
support equipment;
(vi)
an authoritative supplemental data service provider;
(vii)
flight information exchange; and
(viii)
remote and autonomous functions.
(3)
"Aerial transit corridor" means an airspace volume defining a three-dimensional route
segment with performance requirements to operate within or to cross where tactical air
traffic control separation services are not provided.
(4)
"Aeronautics" means transportation by aircraft, air instruction, the operation, repair, or
maintenance of aircraft, and the design, operation, repair, or maintenance of airports, or
other air navigation facilities.
(5)
"Aeronautics instructor" means
any
an
individual engaged in giving or offering to give
instruction in aeronautics, flying, or ground subjects, either with or without:
(a)
compensation or other reward;
(b)
advertising the occupation;
(c)
calling the instructor's facilities an air school, or
any
an
equivalent term; or
(d)
employing or using other instructors.
(6)
"Aircraft" means
any
a
contrivance now known or in the future invented, used, or
designed for navigation of or flight in the air.
(7)
"Air instruction" means the imparting of aeronautical information by
any
an
aviation
instructor or in
any
an
air school or flying club.
(8)
(a)
"Airport" means
any
an
area of land
, water, or both,
or water
that:
(a)
(i)
is used or is made available for landing and takeoff
of aircraft
;
and
(b)
provides facilities for the shelter, supply, and repair of aircraft, and handling of
passengers and cargo;
(c)
meets the minimum requirements established by the department as to size and
design, surface, marking, equipment, and operation; and
(d)
includes all areas shown as part of the airport in the current airport layout plan as
approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.
(ii)
is open or available for public use.
(b)
"Airport" includes:
(i)
appurtenant areas used for buildings, right of way, or other facilities used to
support the airport;
(ii)
a vertiport if the vertiport is open or available for public use; and
(iii)
a flight park.
(9)
"Airport authority" means a political subdivision of the state, other than a county or
municipality, that is authorized by statute to operate an airport.
(10)
"Airport operator" means a municipality, county, or airport authority that owns or
operates a commercial airport.
(11)
(a)
"Airport revenue" means all fees, charges, rents, or other payments received by
or accruing to an airport operator for any of the following reasons:
(i)
revenue from air carriers, tenants, lessees, purchasers of airport properties, airport
permittees making use of airport property and services, and other parties;
(ii)
revenue received from the activities of others or the transfer of rights to others
relating to the airport, including revenue received:
(A)
for the right to conduct an activity on the airport or to use or occupy airport
property;
(B)
for the sale, transfer, or disposition of airport real or personal property, or
any
an
interest in that property, including transfer through a condemnation
proceeding;
(C)
for the sale of, or the sale or lease of rights in, mineral, natural, or agricultural
products or water owned by the airport operator to be taken from the airport;
and
(D)
for the right to conduct an activity on, or for the use or disposition of, real or
personal property or
any
an
interest in real or personal property owned or
controlled by the airport operator and used for an airport-related purpose but
not located on the airport; or
(iii)
revenue received from activities conducted by the airport operator whether on or
off the airport, which is directly connected to the airport operator's ownership or
operation of the airport.
(b)
"Airport revenue" includes state and local taxes on aviation fuel.
(c)
"Airport revenue" does not include amounts received by an airport operator as
passenger facility fees
pursuant to
in accordance with
49 U.S.C. Sec. 40117.
(12)
"Air school" means
any
a
person engaged in giving, offering to give,
or
advertising,
representing, or
a person
holding itself out as giving, with or without compensation or
other reward, instruction in aeronautics, flying, or ground subjects, or in more than one
of these subjects.
(13)
"Airworthiness" means conformity with requirements prescribed by the Federal
Aviation Administration regarding the structure or functioning of aircraft, engine, parts,
or accessories.
(14)
"Authoritative supplemental data service provider" means a third party provider of
unmanned aircraft system traffic management services that is approved by the
department and supplies specialized data to an unmanned aircraft system service
supplier or to an unmanned aircraft system operator for a variety of uses.
(15)
"Civil aircraft" means
any
an
aircraft other than a public aircraft.
(16)
"Commercial aircraft" means aircraft used for commercial purposes.
(17)
"Commercial airport" means a landing area, landing strip, or airport that may be used
for commercial operations.
(18)
"Commercial flight operator" means a person who conducts commercial operations.
(19)
"Commercial operations" means:
(a)
any operations
the operation
of an aircraft for compensation or hire or
any
services performed incidental to the operation of
any
an
aircraft for which a fee is
charged or compensation is received, including the servicing, maintaining, and
repairing of aircraft, the rental or charter of aircraft, the operation of flight or ground
schools, the operation of aircraft for the application or distribution of chemicals or
other substances, and the operation of aircraft for hunting and fishing; or
(b)
the brokering or selling of any of these services; but
(c)
does not include any operations of aircraft as common carriers certificated by the
federal government or the services incidental to those operations.
(20)
"Correctional facility" means the same as that term is defined in Section
77-16b-102
.
(21)
"Dealer" means
any
a
person who is actively engaged in the business of flying for
demonstration purposes, or selling or exchanging aircraft, and who has an established
place of business.
(22)
"Experimental aircraft" means:
(a)
any
an
aircraft designated by the Federal Aviation Administration or the military as
experimental and used solely for the purpose of experiments, or tests regarding the
structure or functioning of aircraft, engines, or their accessories; and
(b)
any
an
aircraft designated by the Federal Aviation Administration as:
(i)
being custom or amateur built; and
(ii)
used for recreational, educational, or display purposes.
(23)
"Flight" means
any
a
kind of locomotion by aircraft while in the air.
(24)
"Flight information exchange" means a model or system that allows for the consistent
exchange of flying data between an unmanned aircraft system traffic management
system and an unmanned aircraft system operator or aircraft to facilitate the coordination
of flights.
(25)
"Flight park" means an area:
(a)
used primarily for the landing and take-off of a hang glider, para glider, or similar
nonmotorized aircraft;
(b)
recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration as an airport; and
(c)
owned by the state or a political subdivision of the state.
(25)
(26)
"Flying club" means five or more persons who for neither profit nor reward own,
lease, or use one or more aircraft for the purpose of instruction, pleasure, or both.
(26)
(27)
"Glider" means an aircraft heavier than air, similar to an airplane, but without a
power plant.
(27)
(28)
"Mechanic" means a person who constructs, repairs, adjusts, inspects, or
overhauls aircraft, engines, or accessories.
(28)
(29)
"Navigable airspace" means the same as that term is defined in 49 U.S.C. Sec.
40102.
(29)
(30)
"Parachute jumper" means
any person
an individual
who has passed the
required test for jumping with a parachute from an aircraft, and has passed an
examination showing that the jumper possesses the required physical and mental
qualifications for the jumping.
(30)
(31)
"Parachute rigger" means any person who has passed the required test for
packing, repairing, and maintaining parachutes.
(31)
(32)
"Passenger aircraft" means aircraft used for transporting persons, in addition to
the pilot or crew, with or without their necessary personal belongings.
(32)
(33)
"Person" means
any
an
individual, corporation, limited liability company, or
association of individuals.
(33)
(34)
"Pilot" means
any
a
person who operates the controls of an aircraft while
in-flight.
(34)
(35)
"Primary glider" means
any
a
glider that has a gliding angle of less than 10 to
one.
(35)
(36)
"Private airport" means an airport that is not open or available for public use.
(36)
(37)
"Public aircraft" means an aircraft used exclusively in the service of
any
a
government or of
any
a
political subdivision, including the government of the United
States, of the District of Columbia, and of
any
a
state, territory, or insular possession of
the United States, but not including
any
a
government-owned aircraft engaged in
carrying persons or goods for commercial purposes.
(37)
(38)
"Reckless flying" means the operation or piloting of
any
an
aircraft recklessly,
or in a manner as to endanger the property, life, or body of
any
a
person, due regard
being given to the prevailing weather conditions, field conditions, and to the territory
being flown over.
(38)
(39)
"Registration number" means the number assigned by the Federal Aviation
Administration to
any
an
aircraft, whether
or not
the number includes a letter or
letters.
(39)
(40)
"Roadable aircraft" means an aircraft capable of taking off and landing from a
suitable airfield and is also designed to be driven on a highway as a conveyance.
(40)
(41)
"Secondary glider" means
any
a
glider that has a gliding angle between 10 to
one and 16 to one, inclusive.
(41)
(42)
"Significant private airport" means a private airport that is designated by the
department as a significant private airport as described in Section
72-10-416
.
(42)
(43)
"Soaring glider" means any glider that has a gliding angle of more than 16 to one.
(43)
(44)
"Unmanned aircraft system service supplier" means a service supplier that:
(a)
relays flight information between an unmanned aircraft system operator and a flight
management system; and
(b)
provides information that supports unmanned aircraft system operations and assists
with strategic deconfliction by an unmanned aircraft system traffic management
system.
(44)
(45)
"Unmanned aircraft" means an aircraft that is:
(a)
capable of sustaining flight; and
(b)
operated with no possible direct human intervention from on or within the aircraft.
(45)
(46)
"Unmanned aircraft system" means the entire system used to operate an
unmanned aircraft, including:
(a)
the unmanned aircraft, including payload;
(b)
communications equipment;
(c)
navigation equipment;
(d)
controllers;
(e)
support equipment; and
(f)
autopilot functionality.
(46)
(47)
"Unmanned aircraft system traffic management" means a traffic management
ecosystem for uncontrolled operations, including unmanned aircraft systems, that is
separate from, but complementary to, the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic
management

system.
(47)
(48)
"Vertiport" means an area of land, or a structure, used or intended to be used for
electric, hydrogen, and hybrid vertical aircraft landings and takeoffs, including
associated buildings and facilities.
Section 2. Section
72-10-401
is amended to read:
72-10-401
. Definitions.
As used in this part:
(1)
(a)
"Airport" means any publicly used area of land or water that is used, or intended
to be used, for the landing and take-off of aircraft and utilized or to be utilized in the
interest of the public for these purposes.
(b)
"Airport" includes a vertiport if the vertiport is open for public use.
(2)
(1)
"Airport hazard" means any structure, tree, object of natural growth, or use of land
that potentially obstructs or otherwise impacts the safe and efficient utilization of the
navigable airspace required for the flight of aircraft in landing or take-off at an airport.
(3)
(2)
"Airport influence area" means land located:
(a)
within 5,000 feet of an airport runway;
or
(b)
within 500 feet of a vertiport that is open for public use
.
; or
(c)
within 1,000 feet of the boundary of a flight park.
(4)
(3)
"Airport overlay zone" means a secondary zoning district designed to protect the
public health, safety, and welfare near an airport that:
(a)
applies land use regulation in addition to the primary zoning district land use
regulation of property used as an airport and property within an airport influence area;
(b)
may extend beyond the airport influence area;
(c)
ensures airport utility as a public asset;
(d)
protects property owner land values near an airport through compatible land use
regulations as recommended by the Federal Aviation Administration; and
(e)
protects aircraft occupant safety through protection of navigable airspace.
(5)
(4)
"Avigation easement" means an easement permitting unimpeded aircraft flights
over property subject to the easement and includes the right:
(a)
to create or increase noise or other effects that may result from the lawful operation
of aircraft; and
(b)
to prohibit or remove any obstruction to such overflight.
(6)
(5)
"Land use regulation" means the same as that term is defined in Sections
10-20-102

and
17-79-102
.
(7)
(6)
"Political subdivision" means any municipality, city, town, or county.
(8)
(7)
"Structure" means any object constructed or installed by man, including buildings,
towers, smokestacks, and overhead transmission lines.
(9)
(8)
"Tree" means any object of natural growth.
Section 3. Section
72-10-403
is amended to read:
72-10-403
. Airport zoning regulations.
(1)
Flight of aircraft over the lands and waters of the state is lawful, unless:
(a)
at such a low altitude as to interfere with the existing use to which the owner has put
the land, water, or the airspace over the land or water; or
(b)
so conducted as to be imminently dangerous to persons or property lawfully on the
land or water beneath.
(2)
In order to prevent the creation or establishment of airport hazards, each political
subdivision located within an airport influence area, shall adopt, administer, and enforce
land use regulations for the airport influence area, including an airport overlay zone,
under the police power and in the manner and upon the conditions prescribed:
(a)
in this part;
(b)
Title 10, Chapter 20, Municipal Land Use, Development, and Management Act; and
(c)
Title 17, Chapter 79, County Land Use, Development, and Management Act.
(3)
(a)
Each political subdivision located within an airport influence area shall notify a
person building on or developing land in an airport influence area, in writing, of
aircraft overflights and associated noise.
(b)
To promote the safe and efficient operation of the airport, a political subdivision
located within an airport influence area:
(i)
shall:
(A)
adopt an airport overlay zone conforming to the requirements of this chapter
and 14 C.F.R. Part 77; and
(B)
require any proposed development within an airport influence area to conform
with 14 C.F.R. Part 77; and
(ii)
may, as a condition to granting a building permit, subdivision plat, or a requested
zoning change within an airport influence area, require a person building or
developing land to grant or sell to the airport owner, at appraised fair market
value, an avigation easement.
(c)
For a flight park, overlay zone restrictions apply only to areas that are within the
primary launch and landing corridors or that would create mechanical turbulence,
rotor, or obstruction affecting customary flight operations.
(4)
If a political subdivision located within an airport influence area fails to adopt an airport
overlay zone by December 31, 2024, then the following requirements shall apply in an
airport influence area:
(a)
each political subdivision located within an airport influence area shall notify a
person building on or developing land within an airport influence area, in writing, of
aircraft overflights and associated noise;
(b)
as a condition to granting a building permit, subdivision plat, or a requested zoning
change within an airport influence area, require the person building or developing
land to grant or sell to the airport owner, at appraised fair market value, an avigation
easement; and
(c)
require a person building or developing land within an airport influence area conform
to the requirements of this chapter and 14 C.F.R. Part 77.
Section 4.
Effective Date.
This bill takes effect on
May 6, 2026
.
2-23-26 10:51 AM