Public meetings at the airport could become truly public.
Responding to public demands for a greater voice on airport noise, Minnesota legislators on Tuesday advanced a proposal requiring Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport to hold its government meetings outside of transportation security barriers.
The proposal would eliminate the need for the public to show a driver's license or other photo ID to obtain a pass and stand in line to be scanned and searched to reach the main concourse where Metropolitan Airports Commission (MAC) meetings are held.
"That's going way beyond what any public agency should do in order for the public to attend their deliberations," Rep. Frank Hornstein, DFL-Minneapolis, said of the current policy.
The House Government Operations Committee approved the proposal Tuesday and the bill was sent to the House Transportation Policy Committee for further consideration.
"Fantastic," said Bob Kane, an Edina resident who has been active in noise issues and who has complained that the Airports Commission's decisions lacked transparency. Meeting outside security "makes it seem more open to people," he said.
The Legislature rarely deals with airport agency issues. But the call for change comes after metro homeowners complained last fall that they were inadequately informed about the potential impact of a new flight plan that would route more planes over some homes and fewer planes over others.
With the Airports Commission poised for a crucial November meeting, Edina community leaders e-mailed instructions to neighbors on how to get a security pass and find the room where officials would vote on the flight plan. More than 100 people showed up, some standing outside doors to the room.