A neighboring city stalled DeKalb’s airport plans by acquiring land intended for Taylor Municipal Airport expansion.

Cortland, east of DeKalb, annexed land along Loves Road and north of0Rleasant Street that DeKalb wants to use for a new runway, said DeKalb Public Works Director Ron Naylor.

The land was annexed between 1978 and 1981.

“They (Cortland) do not look favorably upon our airport expansion,” Naylor said. Cortland wants to use the land for residential growth, he said. Cortland officials were unavailable for comment.

Cortland’s annexation is an attempt to “muddy the waters” for DeKalb expansion, Naylor said.

DeKalb took Cortland to court in 1985 to de-annex an 83-acre piece of land east of the runway, said DeKalb Corporation Counsel Rick Turner. The case is still pending in court.

Turner said a similar de-annexation case involving Cortland might be filed after DeKalb purchases a 176-acre piece of land north of the runway. The city is negotiating for the land, he said.

However, Cortland cannot stop expansion of the airport by annexing the land, he said.

“Cortland has acknowledged DeKalb’s right to build the airport on the land,” he said. However, DeKalb is required by law to de-annex the land before being able to finance the airport, he said.

Naylor said when a municipality buys land for airport purposes, the land becomes a part of it.

Acquiring the land is part of the first phase in a three phase master plan to build a 5,000 foot northeast-southwest runway and make the current runway a taxiway, Naylor said.

Airport operations are dangerous without taxiways for planes to drive around the airport waiting for other planes to use the runway or park, he said.

The proposed runway will decrease noise levels for Cortland and DeKalb, make safer traffic patterns, and permit an Instrument Landing System. An ILS allows landings when there is low visibility.

“It is necessary to have ILS to get in and out of the airport at all times,” Naylor said. However, he said the plans cannot be realized unless DeKalb acquires the necessary land.

Other runway placement options were considered but engineers determined the proposed position was the best choice, he said.

Mitch Hallgren, airport advisory board chairman, said Federal and state funding will cover 95 percent of the land costs and DeKalb will pay the rest through ticket and fuel taxes.