Burlington Air Park

Burlington Air Park Burlington Executive Airport
IATA: none – ICAO: CZBA
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	Vince Rossi
Location	Burlington, Ontario
Time zone	EST (UTC−05:00)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC−04:00)
Elevation AMSL	603 ft / 184 m
Coordinates
Website	www.burlingtonairpark.com
Map
CZBA Location in Ontario
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 14/32 3,775 1,151 Asphalt/Turf 09/27 2,464 751 Asphalt
Source: Canada Flight Supplement

Burlington Air Park (Burlington Executive Airport) (ICAO: CZBA), is a small, privately operated general aviation registered aerodrome in rural Burlington, Ontario west of Toronto. The possible closure of Buttonville Municipal Airport is expected to lead to an increase in traffic.

History

The airport was founded by Victor and Gwen Kovachik in 1962. The western suburbs of Toronto grew up around it, and it is now a popular airport for Toronto-area pilots and has become a thriving airport. The airport was purchased by Vince Rossi in 2006.

Technical information

• Magnetic Variation: 10° west
• Communications: Unicom/ATF: Burlington Unicom/Traffic, 123.5 MHz
• Burlington's main runway - 14/32 - which is 3,763 ft × 75 ft (1,147 m × 23 m)
• Right-hand circuits runway 32, 27

Controversy

Residents neighboring the airport property have raised a number of concerns about substantial amounts of fill being moved onto the site. Airport officials have indicated that the work they are doing is to raise and level a large portion of the site for expansion of the airport.

The City of Burlington has taken the position that the city's site alteration bylaw is applicable and must be complied with. As a result the City of Burlington issued an Order to Comply related to the city's Site Alteration Bylaw 6-2003 on May 3, 2013.

In May 2014, the Burlington Airpark filed a $100,000 claim for libel against Pepper Parr, Vanessa Warren, and Monte Dennis, seeking damages for comments made in relation to the Airpark’s fill operation. Pepper Parr publishes the online newspaper the Burlington Gazette. Vanessa Warren is the former Chair of the Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition (RBGC) and was a candidate for Municipal and Regional Council in 2014. Monte Dennis is the current Co-Chair of the RBGC and member of Citizens Opposed to Paving the Escarpment (COPE) and Coalition on the Niagara Escarpment (CONE). Warren and Dennis have characterized this claim as a SLAPP - Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation.

As of April 2015 Burlington City Council gave staff authority to take Burlington Airpark Inc. back to court over failure to comply with the municipal bylaw. On May 21, 2015, the Ontario Court of Justice heard a motion from Burlington Airpark Inc. to remove paragraphs from a City of Burlington affidavit supporting the city’s application. Burlington Airpark Inc. argued these paragraphs contain an improper reference to “without prejudice” discussions between the city and the Airpark. The Ontario Court of Justice granted the motion to remove the paragraphs from the affidavit and awarded Burlington Airpark Inc. $3,500 in costs to be paid by the city. The court date to hear the city’s application regarding Burlington Airpark Inc. was rescheduled from May 28, 2015, to Nov. 10, 2015, before a judge of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

In October 2015, the Ontario government passed Bill 52, the Protection of Public Participation Act 2015, which aims to allow the public to participate more freely in public discussions without fear of retribution by giving them a better way to defend themselves against strategic lawsuits. The act is not retroactive to claims filed prior to it going into effect.

In December 2015 Rural Burlington Greenbelt Coalition launched a crowdfunding campaign to help Warren and Dennis pay their legal costs with a goal of $100,000.

See also

• List of airports in the Greater Toronto Area

External links

• Burlington Airpark Web Site
• Spectrum Airways
• Page about this airport on COPA's Places to Fly airport directory
• City of Burlington Airpark information portal