Camas County OKs Soldier Field Airport

FAIRFIELD, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — A large private airport could be coming to Camas County after months of work and applications.

“Ix-Nay Investment Trust wants to put in a private airstrip for their guests and for themselves, to bring their larger aircraft in than Hailey, or Friedman Memorial would hold,” said the Planning and Zoning Administrator Dwight Butlin.

This has been an idea for Ix-Nay Investment Trust for many years, but have recently gone through all the required steps to get it approved by county officials.

Their proposed runway would be 8,500 feet long and would be long enough for a Boeing 737-800 to land.

“This year they finally went through all of the process for the county, as far as the public hearings for a conditional use permit, and then the public hearings for the comprehensive plan for future land use map change, and for a rezone of some property,” Butlin said.

Although they met the qualifications of Camas County, it could still be a while before the runway is officially built.

“Now from the county standpoint, they are clear to go ahead with their runway project,” Butlin said. “They have several other federal requirements and permits they will have to acquire over a period of time.”

The runway would be 10 miles east of Fairfield, and a mile and a half north of US 20.

For those living in Camas County, it could be a benefit.

“It has the potential to be a benefit to Camas County, depending on how they develop it, if they develop it,” Butlin said. “It will change the tax base because it will no longer be taxed as agricultural land — it will be taxed as a runway. So it will change the basis of it and will help the county from that aspect.”

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