An 80-foot, unlit flagpole erected by a family whose property neighbors the Tooele Valley Airport has disrupted flights and is creating a safety hazard, Salt Lake City, which owns the airport, alleged in a lawsuit this month.
Salt Lake City Corporation is asking a judge to issue an injunction to remove the pole, arguing it has hindered air-medical flights, constrained wildland firefighting operations and forced the Utah Air National Guard to reroute training missions to Nephi, adding that at least two private flights have had to divert course or change their flight plan to land elsewhere because of it, according to the complaint filed in 3rd District Court.
The flagpole stands in Erda, approximately 1,260 feet — about four football fields — from Tooele Valley Airport’s only runway. The Kunz family purchased the land near the airport in 2000 and divided it among family members, then built the flagpole this summer to honor Dick Kunz, the family patriarch and veteran who died in 2013, the Tooele Transcript Bulletin reported. An American flag flew from the pole Thursday afternoon.
The Federal Aviation Administration issued a preliminary ruling earlier this year, saying the flagpole is “presumed to be a hazard to air navigation.” It said any structure over 61 feet would “result in a substantial adverse effect and would warrant a Determination of Hazard to Air Navigation,” according to the lawsuit. The administration hasn’t yet issued a final determination.
Currently, flights to and from the airport are suspended between dusk and dawn because of the flagpole, the complaint states.
Neil Kunz, whose mother owns the parcel with the flagpole, acknowledged during a June 22 Erda City Council meeting that the flagpole is affecting airport operations. But he countered that the airport is affecting how his family uses their property, arguing that the flights above it are akin to trespassing.
He did not respond to The Salt Lake Tribune’s request for comment Friday.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) Flights to and from the Tooele Valley Airport are suspended between dusk and dawn because of the 80-foot, unlit flagpole, Salt Lake City's lawsuit states.
When reached for comment, Salt Lake City spokesperson Andrew Wittenberg said in a statement that the city does not typically comment on pending litigation.
“However,” he continued, “our primary goal at all of our airport locations including Salt Lake City International Airport, South Valley Regional Airport and Tooele Valley Airport is to ensure safe air travel, day and night, for everyone in an aircraft and residents living in close proximity to airport property.”
Salt Lake City also operates the South Valley Regional airport in West Jordan.
The Erda City Council heard from Neil Kunz at least three times during meetings in May and June, discussing whether the family sought the proper permits before building the flagpole. While the family’s building permit was approved, the Kunzes didn’t seek a conditional use permit to build higher than the 35 feet allowed in the zoning district.
Neil Kunz argued he didn’t need the conditional use permit because the code only specifies a height limit for buildings, not structures, like the flagpole.
On June 22, the Erda City Council ultimately voted not to enforce the need for a conditional use permit. The vote was split 2-3. Then came the lawsuit — the latest in a nearly 20-year saga between the Kunz family and the airport, according to court documents.
Salt Lake City first sought eminent domain for the air rights over the family’s property in 2004, about five years after the city first acquired the airport, to expand the runway and fly more planes in and out of it. The city and the Kunzes never reached a deal, and the city began a condemnation process in 2007, which the family fought in court. A judge dismissed the condemnation proceedings in 2018, ruling that the city didn’t follow due process.
Jess Bird, chair of the Erda City Council, said the City Council issued the Kunzes a building permit for the flagpole when the council was still in its “infancy.” Erda was incorporated as a city in January 2022.
He said the engineering firm they contracted to handle building permits either misinterpreted the code or didn’t read it when it approved the application. Had code been followed, Bird said the Kunzes would have needed to apply for a conditional use permit. Then the issue would have been discussed among council members, the Kunzes and the airport.
“I’m sure we could have come to a much shorter flagpole permit,” he said, “but because none of that happened and the permit was issued, that’s what’s got the City Council kind of split on either side.”
Now, Bird said, Salt Lake City’s lawsuit has made the issue “a moot point for us,” because a judge will decide what must be done. Even so, he said, the council often hears from residents who live near the airport — and that disputes will likely continue as both Erda, the county and the airport expands.
A March 2022 report on aviation activity at the Tooele Valley Airport indicated Tooele County was one of the fastest growing counties in the country, bolstered by its easy access to Salt Lake City. That growth is driving development — and increased airport usage.
In 2019, the Kunz family asked Salt Lake City to buy the property, The Salt Lake Tribune reported. Neil Kunz at the time said flights interfered with his sleep and made the property “incompatible for residential use.” Salt Lake City has offered to buy the land — just not for the what the family considers a reasonable price.
As long as the flagpole is up, and planes can’t use the airport at night, the Kunz family may be sleeping easier. But it’s unclear how long that will last, or at what cost.
(Chris Samuels | The Salt Lake Tribune) A sign at the Tooele Valley Airport warning about noise from flights overhead.
