I received the following comment from the Contact Us page. I thought this is a great discussion point. Here is the original email and my response.
Comment: I say no to you and people like you that feel they have the right to tell and say what another person can’t do on their property. I have lived in Mendon for 15 years I watch people do things that I don’t like all the time but it is not my say what they do. I work rotating shifts and sleep day and night. I have to listen to a train whistle morning and night. It wakes me up, there are no safety gates, it runs right by the school, again no gates. It is not safe, it is annoying, and brings down my property value. What are you going to do about this? Where is the “ no railroad website”. Mind your own and our community can be a community where we all can be proud and happy to live in. You are heading down a slippery slope. You start this and then we all can say what the neighbors can’t do with their property, that includes you, farms, ranches, town and county people.
Thank you for your comment. This is the type of discussion that we need on a project like the Holyoak Airport.
Your home was built in 1994, the railroad was built in 1906. The railroad tracks are 3300 feet from your property, the airport is 300 feet from mine. As you have pointed out, the noise from the trains is not confined to the property where the tracks are located, the sound is a long distance nuisance.
Let’s look at this situation comparing items of equal value.
| Source of Sound | dB rating |
| Train horn, at the source | 140 |
| Propeller driven airplane, at 300 ft (my home from Holyoak airport) | 98-100 |
| Power lawnmower | 96 |
| Train horn, at 3300 feet ( Distance to Main Street Mendon ) | 80-90 |
| Food blender | 88 |
| Propeller driven airplane, 1000 ft overhead | 88 |
| Garbage disposer | 80 |
| Ambient noise, west of Mendon, typical day | 40-63 |
| Conversation at home | 50 |
| Whisper | 20 |
| Breathing | 10 |
While the railroad tracks predate the construction of your home by several decades, the Holyoak Airport only exists on paper at this point.
I agree with you that as property owners, we should have rights to enjoy our homes and property as we wish, or until someone else is harmed. We should be able to farm, garden, raise our chickens, park our cars, jeeps, and trailers without interference. However, when a property use starts to harm the neighbors, we need to look at the allowed uses. Is the proposed use compatible with the neighborhood or area?
The joy the Holyoaks receive from having an airport at their home does not
trump the joy Kookie Tanner would have if able to sell her property. The harm to Kookie is significant. The pleasure the Holyoaks receive from having an airport should not trump the joy of the Stoker family to live in their home. The Stokers were told the airport would be voided if they built their home in the runway protection zone. They built, and the airport did not go away, the protection zone was shortened to just off the edge of their home by 10 feet. The Stokers will be directly under the airplane taking off, and the aircraft will be less than 300 ft overhead!
I believe that we need to balance the rights of a property owner to do as they wish, but the desired use should not harm adjacent property owners. I hope that your neighbors will consider your widow’s property rights before they install a biker bar next door. Kookie’s rights have been trampled on when it comes to this airport. To calm your concerns, I would be one of the first to sign a “No biker bar/protect this widow’s rights,” petition.
Please come to our meeting at the Mendon Station on Thursday, May 30th at 7:30 pm. It is this type of discussion that we need as a community.
Dirk Howard
Mendon Airport 