In 1970, the Airport and Airway Development Act standardized the manner in which the development of airports may be executed. The responsibility for instituting a national system for the development of airports was placed under the direction of the Secretary of Transportation. One section of the Act relates to Airport Master Planning and affects all general use airports. .
The Airport Master Plan involves various components for handling development of new facilities and for expansion or revitalization of existing facilities. It provides a plan for meeting short-range and long-range needs and should be reviewed every few years, depending on the extent of change taking place. .
While the Airport Master Plan encompasses everything from the preplanning phase through environmental studies to a detailed assessment of existing conditions and follows a logical analysis in order to determine the appropriate facility needs and to determine plans and schedules for proceeding, it is not required by the FAA. However, the end result, detailed in the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) is an FAA requirement and must be approved before money from the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) will be granted. .
The ALP is comprised of a Land Use Plan, a Terminal Area Plan, and an Airport Access Plan. These plans are important not only for existing and future airport development, but may also assist in the improvement of land around the airport and prohibit growth in areas that would otherwise have a negative impact on future airport expansion.
AIRPORT LAYOUT PLAN. The Airport Layout Plan (ALP) serves as a critical planning tool for existing and planned airport expansion. All development at general use airports must be done in accordance with an FAA-approved ALP. As the most important product in the AMP process, the ALP provides a means for obtaining funding from the Federal Aviation Administration. .
The ALP is a graphic representation of the existing airport, its facilities and its land uses.